Say, “Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezekiel 37:21–23 NRSV)
One of the earliest lessons we all learned in school is simple addition. And the simplest form of addition is 1+1=2. We all know that equation; it is likely next to impossible for you to remember a time you didn’t know it. However, as we see in Ezekiel 37, the answer to that equation is different according to Kingdom Math. For when it comes to God’s restorative work in his Kingdom, 1+1=1.
True unity only happens in God’s Kingdom. God is the only one able to take what mankind has divided and remake it beautifully whole. Praise be to God that his work of unity is not limited to his promises regarding Israel. We see it again and again in the grand drama of Scripture. Marriage is the magnificent unity of a man and a woman. Jesus Christ is the mysterious union of both human and divine natures. The Church is a beautiful unity of Jews and Gentiles. The Body of Christ is a collection of parts arranged as God so desired. The House of God is built of individual stones that come together in accordance with the Builder’s plan.
Kingdom Math: if we are awake to it, we will see it all around us.
So where might God be inviting you to practice some Kingdom Math by focusing on unity? Maybe he is calling together the different factions of your church. Maybe he is calling together the different decision-makers of your community. Or maybe he is calling together the broken pieces of your family.
Whatever, whoever, or whenever it might be, remember this: Wherever God’s people encounter division and brokenness, we are invited to apply the principles of Kingdom Math and strive together for the unity accomplished by Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.
David Curtis is the lead pastor of Salt Creek Baptist Church in Dallas, Oregon.
