Unity goes deeper than tofu

Even though my “other blog” is anonymous, I’m excited about this co-effort with my granddaughter. We have opposite views on just about everything so working together on this blog ought to be an adventure. The plan is that we eat out once a week and blog our thoughts on each dining experience—as sort of "unofficial food critics with a generation gap distinctive."

I’m not sure we will agree on anything we eat. She sets a high standard and I think most things I don’t have to cook are just fine. However, as she points out the nuances of what we are eating, I can see that I will develop a more discriminating palette. While I’ll still award an eatery more stars than she does, I’m already understanding why she thinks some cooks need to go back to school.

The two of us don’t enjoy much unity regarding food (yet) and even less regarding more important issues, like our views on spirituality (yet), but spiritual unity would be nice. Psalm 3 says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers (and other relatives!) live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head . . . It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”

The biblical description of spiritual unity goes beyond tastes in food. It is a unity based on the common denominator of Christ living in the hearts of those who believe, giving us the same perspective on life’s issues. We have His mind so we can think His thoughts. As this last verse says, this unity is a blessing from God. It flows from the everlasting life that each believer has because of Christ.

In his little book, Principles of Spiritual Growth, Miles J. Stanford describes the Christian life as an organic thing. The living Christ dwells in us and cannot help but produce growth and fruit, and become visible. The force of His life is so powerful that our lives simply must change.

It is no wonder then that having Christ in our hearts means unity in our spirits, even unity of thought and emotion. However, we are not clones. Even with unity, one outer person can have a hankering for tofu and another can’t stand it (yet).