By: Obed Pineda
It is true that when one hears the term harmony, the image of a conglomerate of people working well with one another is very likely what surfaced in the mind’s eye. Indeed, this mental image is not incorrect since one definition of the word is “a pleasing arrangement of parts” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). It is remarkable to remember, however, that the primary use of the word is in relation to music. Webster first defines the word as “the combination of simultaneous musical notes in a chord” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Furthermore, it elaborates that this ability is “the science of the structure, relation, and progression of chords” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Upon reading these descriptions of harmony, it becomes evident why it seamlessly transitions to refer to the congruent cooperation between multiple people. When many instruments harmonize well with one another, their harmony is displayed by the beautiful sound of music that is created by this mutual collaboration. Similarly, when several people come together with the same objective and are able to arrange themselves efficiently according to each person’s ability, their harmonious teamwork becomes evident by the several achievements successfully accomplished by them as a group. When this tightly knit group has an admirably high percentage of success rate, it is said that they are like a well oiled machine. This popular idiom exhibits the precious value of perfect unity found in the walk of harmony. The inspired apostle to the Gentiles concurs with the idiom’s concept as he explains that a united Church “may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16). Remember that harmony (whether in music or in human collaboration) is finding how to rightly fit all the parts together for the sake of progress. When the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to pen this instruction to the brethren at Ephesus, the Church had only been in existence on the earth for a few decades. This means that the Church was still in its infancy stages and it was still maturing in great part because there were portions of Scripture that had yet to be inspired by God (cf. Ephesians 4:11-14, 1st Corinthians 13:8-12). Because the Church was still in its developmental stage, harmony among the brethren was crucial for spiritual growth. Let us recall that at this point in history being Jew or Gentile no longer mattered because “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15). Yet, it behooves the diligent student of the Bible to not forget that this was a very new concept for the ancient world of the first century. Additionally, the tense relationship between Jews and Gentiles had existed for several centuries before the Son of God “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Thus, it was vital to find a way to bring both sides together and arrange them to fit in perfect harmony with each other. Hence why it was necessary to begin with the removal of the Law of Moses (i.e. “the handwriting of requirements that was against us”). Although the Jews were chosen to bring forth the chosen Seed (cf. John 4:22b), the Gentiles were never excluded from heaven’s eternal scheme of redemption (cf. Galatians 3:8). The challenge would then be how to teach Jew and Gentile the necessity of learning to walk in harmony together in order to reach eternal salvation and progress the Church forward into spiritual maturity. The solution given by God is the commandment to “walk in love, as Christ also loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:2). The apostle’s words echo the Master’s royal edict mandating, “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Learning to walk in love is equal to learning how to be in harmony with each other as the Church. It means learning how we as the family of heaven (cf. Ephesians 3:15) fit well with one another with the goal of growing spiritually. Jesus is set by the Holy Spirit as the standard that must be reached if we are to learn how to properly walk in love as is instructed by God. It has already been mentioned that the Lord first removed the obstacles that hampered peace being achieved between enemies (cf. Ephesians 2:14-16). It is valuable to bring into focus that when Jesus walked on this earth, He was a Jew by birth (cf. Matthew 2:1-6, Luke 2:21-24). Ergo, He was required to submit to the Law of Moses His entire terrestrial life; the same Law He removed after fulfilling it perfectly until His death, burial, and resurrection (cf. Matthew 5:17-18, Hebrews 10:5-13). Because the Lord was born a Jew, human logic would perhaps suggest that it would have been natural to uphold the Judaic system and establish it as the road leading to redemption for everyone, but instead He removed it for the sake of reaching all of the lost; not just the house of Israel. In doing so, the Lord Christ proved that God verily does not show partiality or favoritism toward any man, culture, or social class. The great Redeemer demonstrates that the walk of harmony begins when one willingly sheds those things which can hinder me from reaching my brother. Our Savior put aside His own upbringing understanding that those practices were a “vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers” (1st Peter 1:18b, KJV). Peter explains that the Law was vain because it could not redeem those who lived by it (cf. 1st Peter 1:19). With His decision of eliminating the Judaic system (a system that He received from His earthly parents) we are taught that to walk in harmony we must be willing to eliminate customs, traditions, and opinions that can wane the growth of His Church. The path of love manifests when “in lowliness of mind…each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3b). Learning that Jesus is the paradigm given to His Church to follow, it makes sense that we are instructed to have His mentality when it concerns making decisions in our Christian walk (cf. Philippians 2:5-8). When we learn to walk in harmony, we learn to walk in love and increase our chances of making a sweet song of victory together (cf. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).