A Congregational approach (The City on the Hill, Matthew 5:14-16)

A Congregational approach (The City on the Hill, Matthew 5:14-16)
One of the prettiest times of the year in our region is Christmas time, it seems like everyone likes to decorate with beautiful bright lights. Our local park has what they call “Christmas in the park” and it is basically a drive through light show with displays everywhere you look. If you take the time to get out of your car and walk up to the displays, you will notice that they are made up of hundreds if not thousands of individual lights. Now one of these lights on their own would not make much of a light show but when they all light up in unity they produce beautiful artwork that draws crowds to view them. I see Jesus’ use of the city on the hill analogy in the same way I do the Christmas lights in the park. A single light will produce some light but nothing like the light produced when many lights come together unity. The body of Christ has responsibility of placing their individual light on the nightstand before the world, but it also has the responsibility of coming together and become a city of lights shining for Jesus. When the church is unified and working together the light for Christ is magnified to this world and when we are not the light is dimmed and we looked ununified.
Before Jesus left this earth He prayed for the church and that we may be unified as the He and the Father was unified. When the church is at odds with each other, not cooperating with each other, or talking about each other the world does not see the light of Christ they see a chaotic mess. People would not drive to the park to see a bunch of random individual lights illuminated but they will for a cohesive unified grouping of lights that is beautiful. Just like the park has many individual displays of lights the body of Christ has many as well. Some a bigger than others, some are different colors, and some are brighter than others, but all have the same theme, celebrating Christmas. Our individual churches are the same, we do not all look the same, but we should all be pointing others to Jesus Christ. Unification does not mean that we all go the same building and worship the same way it means that we all have the same focus, showing the light of Jesus Christ to this world and growing His kingdom.