The golden rule of loving your

responding to the hardships of our times, we need one another, we depend on one another, and we can advance only if we walk together, not in separation,” said WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca. Pope Francis in his greetings to WCC said: "Christians must have a common witness to the Gospel to address injustice and division in the world, not only among churches but also among religions, cultures, peoples, nations, and the entire human family."

The existence of God and truth of the Bible is questioned more than ever now. Public prayers are prohibited and any symbols of Christianity including crosses are removed from public places under the principle of separation of Church and State. Recently, the U. S. Supreme Court held that right for abortion is not guaranteed anywhere in the U. S. Constitution and overturned Roe vs. Wade, more than a half century precedent decision which allowed the women the right to abortion. In another recent decision, deciding in favor of a High School coach, who prayed in the filed after the game is over, the U. S. Supreme Court said: “a person has the right to exercise his religious faith and not to shed it at the school gate”. Deterioration of moral and religious faith in any country is the lack of failure on the part of faithful believers to live a life glorifying the Lord. Thus the U. S. Supreme Court once again reminded us that we are all in it together.

It is the collective responsibility (we are all in it together) of the faithful believers to live a faithful life and to show to the world by their deeds expressing their faith. If we do not do it together, there will be more and more church buildings and pews becoming empty and may be turned into restaurants and or movie theaters, which is happening in Europe and America.

In Philippians 2, verses 1–2, Paul is calling upon the recipients of his letter to unity, humility, and obedience. According to Paul, if we all need to be together, we need to have unity, humility and obedience to face the challenges we are facing as faithful believers. There is no religious unity among various religions in the world; there is no unity in diversity. Instead, each religion is trying to have its dominance over people, where the use religious violence and terrorism are used as weapons of mass of destruction.

Not only is Jesus responsible for creating all things, He is the reason all things continue to exist. He is the constant sustaining power in our lives. He’s not only holding the universe together, but He’s also holding us together. Colossians 1:17 says, “In Him all things hold together.” When Paul uses the phrase, “All things in Him hold together,” he is speaking of Lord’s power to sustain and to prevent breakdown. The word “together” speaks of a relationship, together with, in union with; in company or in combination with other faithful believers.

The first century Church was unique in time and history as they were “together’ to begin with and then endured much persecution, together, and also prayed and stayed together as one body of Christ. We can very well conclude that the Church is one body composed of many members, but when the members become divided, it divides the Body of Christ, the Church. Power in the hands of some people is dangerous, but power in the hands of Christ is blessed. It is His authority that sends us, His authority that guides us, and His authority that empowers us. His presence holds us together to continue His mission. His work and message would continue in the world through His disciples, us the faithful, by accepting that we are all in it together (1 Corinthians 3:6-8). “For where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I with them. ” (Matthew 18:20). This is the assurance of the Lord that if the faithful gather together, His presence will be with us. He has given us the authority as well as promised us of His presence with us, provided if we do His mission together. Jesus, never did His ministry in this world by himself, and he appointed 12 apostles and selected 70 disciples and sent them two by two, in pairs, each with specific instructions how to continue His ministry. These instructions are relevant to the present time, in which we are living too, being in it together.

Paul also emphasizes this principle, ‘we are all in it together’, with his words: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are coworkers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor 3: 6-9). In a joint effort; no one can take any individual, self-centered, credit, since ‘we are all in it together.’ When we are all in it together the glory is attributed to the Lord and not to us.

“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.” (Ephesians 4: 4-6) In Ephesians 4:11–16, the apostle Paul defined the pattern for the life of the Church. God has given gifted leaders to the church, not for the purpose of doing the work of ministry alone, but for the purpose of equipping the people so that they can do the work of the ministry. “So, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (versus 11-12). This is a different approach from what we often see in our churches today.

The Church, which is the body of Christ is divided into more than 45,000 denominations globally consisting of about 2 billion Christians. Recently, a survey held in England to find out the number of practicing Christians revealed that only 7% of the Christians are practicing Christians. They define ‘practicing Christian’ as a person who attends a church once in a month and reads the Bible once in a week. As Pope Francis said, the numbers of ‘religious nones’ are increasing in the world especially in the Western countries. This tendency is affecting more now than in all Christian generations.

At the 15th Lambeth Conference in 2022 (27th July to 7th August), the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, informed the bishops gathered that they should adopt a process called 'Lambeth Calls'. The focus of the Lambeth Conference was exploring what it means to be ‘God’s Church for God’s World’ in the decade ahead. The Conference was attended by approximately 650 bishops representing 165 countries; they gathered in Canterbury to share in worship, prayer and discussion on key issues affecting the lives of their communities around the world. Addressing the Conference in his final keynote speech, Archbishop of Canterbury asked: “How should we act? Above all, in relationship that is the first and greatest call – the one we haven’t listed but it is the greatest call because it is the scriptural call.” It is a scriptural call for God’s kingdom. As Jesus said, the Kingdom of God is near us, the Kingdom of God is within us. The Archbishop said, “The Kingdom is seen in how we set out as the revolutionary movement that is God’s church in Christ, for it leads us from tightly clutching, to freely receiving the grace of God, from zero-sum scarcity to abundance, hospitality