Crime shows have always intrigued me. It is not the blood and gore that intrigues me as much as it is the tools and techniques of solving the crime. If they have good writers on the show, imparting wit and dimension to the television character, so much the better. For a number of years now, one of my favorite criminal investigation shows is NCIS. The fictional collection of special agents stationed at the Washington Naval Yard in Washington, D.C. are interesting because each one has at least one emotional wound from their past that needs healing. Gibbs, victimized by the murder of his wife and daughter; Ziva, clashing with her authoritative father; and Tony, searching for a genuine relationship with the opposite sex, all provide as much interest as the murder investigations within the context of the United States Navy and Marines. They have gadgets to help them in the search: Abby Sciuto, a famed forensic specialist, uses so much technology in her lab to find the criminal that one just knows the murderer has no chance against this multi-tattooed scientist. Even Timothy McGee, a computer geek that loves to write novels, uses a tool to immediately identify the victim by pressing his or her fingerprint onto an iPhone-sized gadget.
All this has made me think how different we are as human beings. Like the characters on the show, each one of us is different in backgrounds, tastes, personalities, and skills. It is not just the big stuff that makes us different; it is also the small stuff that makes us singularly unique. For example, our DNA is unique. Every cell in our body has been genetically and uniquely coded.
So when we read in the Scriptures about the necessity for unity among believers, I nod my head in agreement but wonder how it can be done. The need to acquire or protect power is as much a problem within the Church as it is in the world - for the Christian as much as it is for the non-believer. So how can we be unified with so much diversity?
I get my clue from NCIS, but it was in the Bible the whole time! This diverse group of special agents and forensic experts really care about each other. Of course, they don’t always show it in their talk, but they always show it in their walk. They protect one another, seek to understand each other, and forgive one another.
Remember the prayer of Jesus the last night before his crucifixion, in John 17. He first prays for himself, then his disciples, and then he prays for us. Drink deeply his words to the Father about us:
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
How do we attain unity among so much diversity? Take a hint from NCIS. Unity can only come from love. For the Christian, unity has deep implications. The love which united Father and Son is the same love that the Son passes on to every believer who in turn, demonstrates that kind of love to all they encounter. Unfortunately, at times, our wounds can get in our way. That is why I want you to read the last sentence again in the Scriptures: God has loved us even as He has loved Jesus.
Wow! Most of our wounds can experience healing if we just stop trying to impress, deceive, or be in control. The uniqueness of our unity comes only when we are in union with Jesus Christ. And when we are in union with Jesus, we will know (and feel) his love for us. After all, Jesus really is the best forensic expert!
Tony Baron+