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 all unity
May one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians
By our love.                                --Peter Scholte

Old song, nice sentiment--but is it so? The other two verses say: "We will work with each other, we will work side by side and we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride. And they'll know we are Christians by our love," and "We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand and together we'll spread the News that God is in our land. And they'll know we are Christians by our love."

I fear the Christian community is not too concerned with the sentiments of the song anymore, even if we really were in the days when we sang it around the campfire. Who can we find to be concerned with another man or woman's dignity and pride? How closely do we walk together and work together to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ? There is so much bickering over things that don't matter--doctrines, procedures, translations, how wet to get during baptism, what instruments, if any, are appropriate during church, the color of the sanctuary walls, etc.-- that we have neglected what brought us to Christ in the first place--His great love.

"As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph. 4:1-5).

I fear we have long departed from the church of Acts, that we have scrubbed and scraped the outside of the cup and left the inside filthy, that we are "whitewashed tombs." If we are serious about Christ's command to spread the Gospel  and make disciples, we'd better get with the basics--loving each other. "They'll know we are Christians by our love!"