I have felt extremely heavy and perplexed all weekend. Ever since the law passed for same-sex marriage to be legal in all 50 states, I have felt heavy.

And it hasn’t been due to the fact that I disagree with that practice becoming a normalization in our society.

This post isn’t about my thoughts and opinions on the decision made this weekend by our government, although I do naturally have them like everyone else.

I have felt this weight of sadness that I believe is from the Lord. This weight isn’t for what the world is doing and choosing. It is for His church and what IT is choosing. I found myself reading hundreds of posts from believers everywhere this weekend all over the internet; fighting, arguing, debating, disagreeing, being hurtful, and being hateful to one another. I found myself getting caught up in it all and at one point discussing it as well with people who disagreed with me. But it all felt wrong. It didn’t feel right. Not because a couple people disagreed with me. But because I could feel us as a church growing in division and disunity. (The conversation I personally had was a healthy conversation, but I did see many to the contrary.)

I have been praying a lot this weekend asking God to search me and to give me wisdom and understanding for what is happening. I have been asking for peace and a place in His wisdom to rest in all of this chaos and discord. I wanted a right perspective from the one true God. I wanted to know what the Real Jesus was doing and feeling and thinking. I didn’t want the influence of others or even other believers. I wanted God’s perspective.

I almost immediately got a Bible verse from Him.

We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  –Ephesians 6:12

My heart quickened to this truth for the church. There is potential for more disunity in the church than ever before right now. The very thing the church is called to be we are quickly running from. We are building walls and divisions, and those walls aren’t just against the LGBT community. They are against our brothers and sisters. There is an agenda that supersedes all other agendas right now in our world. It is an unseen agenda with unseen powers and authorities, and it is moving forward quickly against the church. The agenda to break down the Church and turn it against itself is on the move and it’s happening.

We need to stop looking at our brothers and sisters and seeing a battle to be fought there, and instead begin asking Jesus for eyes to see what is really going on and how we can unify ourselves to come against the Ruler of the World, speaking the truth in love and encouraging one another. Not just that, but being humble enough to receive godly correction, and to sit at the feet of Jesus and ask Him for His thoughts and His heart, setting aside our opinions no matter how right we think we are. The New Testament repeatedly talks about how we aren’t called to get in “foolish arguments that only start fights” (1 Tim 6:20, 2 Tim 2:14; 23-26, Titus 3:9, ). Dissension leads to losing the very thing we are all arguing about–our effectiveness and influence as The Church.

The Body cannot function if each member thinks it is better than another. And it certainly isn’t effective when it forgets that its Head is Christ. We are all moved and empowered by Jesus Christ. We are called to work in Unity. And we need to figure out what that looks like in this new place the world has brought about.

God, would the fear of the Lord fall on us; would we know You in all Your glory and holiness and majesty alongside Your great love; that the gravity of the King we serve would cause us all to fall on our faces in repentance because of Your great splendor. We desperately need to be awestruck again by Your brilliance, Lord God. You aren’t one to be mocked, You aren’t one to be taken lightly, You aren’t powerless, You don’t bring fear or cause division in Your Body, and You have a deep passion in Your perfect heart to see Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us Your heart, Lord. Teach us how to carry Your heart in UNITY, that we wouldn’t quench your spirit with our fleshly quarrels. Let us work together in love and truth to see Your name glorified and Your kingdom victorious.