Campus CrossWalk Magazine: 2006 Spring Issue -- The Defining Characteristic

Worldview: A set of beliefs about who we are, the way things are, and what we ought to do about it.

: “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of god, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” ~ The apostle Paul, writing in Colossians 2:2-3

: “One Love! One Heart! Let’s get together and feel all right…
Sayin’ One Love, what about the One Heart?
Let’s get together and feel all right.
I’m pleading to mankind, One Love, Oh Lord! One Heart!
Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right!”
~ Bob Marley & Curtis Mayfield, c.1977

Surprised to see Bob Marley and Paul in the same article? Nearly two thousand years apart and yet so close in their desires for mankind. They had similar goals in wanting everyone to have a close relationship with God. They held similar worldviews. They may not have gone about their missions in the same way but each held strongly to the conviction that unity and peace were important and possible.

: “Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Bruder, uberm Sternenzelt muss ein lieber Vater wohnen. (Millions embrace! This kiss for all the world! Brothers, above the starry canopy a loving father must dwell!)” ~ from Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven.

In 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down uniting East and West Germany, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony played while a half a million people poured across the newly opened border on Christmas Eve. Beethoven was not alive to see this but this is exactly what he had in mind when he wrote his famous work. His desire was to see mankind unite and put an end to war.

What is your worldview? How to you proclaim it? As Christians we are called to be One in Love. God is Love (I John 4:16). We are called to love one another for love comes from God. Our Christian worldview is love. Love is our belief. Love is what we do.

Listen again to Paul as he writes in Philippians 2:2. “. . . make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”

Our purpose is to be like Christ. When each of us is doing our best to be Christ-like in all our ways, then we can’t help but be One. When we are not, then there is some part of our life that is still not fully surrendered to Christ.

When we are immature in our faith, we are easily swayed by others who present fancy arguments, who are deceitful and want to lead us astray and who are mislead in their own beliefs. Paul tells us that a mark of our spiritual maturity is when we are able to recognize false teaching and, in a loving way, correct those who have tried to mislead us. Again, it is to be done with love not done to humiliate another. When we can do that, we will all grow into unity by becoming the body over which Christ is the Head. We are unified and yet we each have our own work as part of the Body.

Jesus gave us the command: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” He said that love will be the defining characteristic so that the world will know we are his disciples.

Does the world know who you are?

: We are One in the Spirit, We are One in the Lord.
We are One in the Spirit, We are One in the Lord.
And we pray that our unity may one day be restored,
And they’ll know we are Christians by our Love, by our Love!
Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our Love!

Lee Burdett is an alumnus of the Auburn Christian Student Center’s campus ministry (Auburn University), and the Meridian Woods church of Christ campus ministry (Florida State University) where she met her husband. They helped to establish a campus minister in Gainesville, FL with University City church of Christ. She lives (surviving hurricanes) in Altamonte Springs, FL, and enjoys her two children.