How Good, How Pleasant

How Good, How Pleasant

A church planter in a divided city described something she had witnessed repeatedly: when a community of believers genuinely lived in unity — across racial, economic, and generational lines — the surrounding neighborhood noticed and was drawn in. 'We don't advertise our diversity as a program,' she said. 'We just live together. And people come asking, 'What is this?' Because it doesn't exist anywhere else in this neighborhood.' The unity was not manufactured by common opinion; it was produced by a common Lord. 'We disagree about many things,' she admitted. 'But we've decided that Jesus is the most important thing about each of us, and that's a sufficient basis for the good-and-pleasant of Psalm 133.'

Psalm 133 is a psalm of ascent — sung by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem from different regions, different backgrounds, different experiences. They arrived with one purpose and under one God. The psalm celebrates the quality of this gathered unity with two vivid images: precious oil running down Aaron's beard and dew falling on Mount Hermon. Both images speak of abundance, blessing, and life-giving overflow. The psalm ends: 'For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.' Unity is not merely pleasant — it is the location of the blessing. God's fullness flows particularly in the midst of genuine, costly, multi-faceted Christian unity. What is threatening the unity of the community you're part of? What does it cost you to maintain it?