Along 44 Ephesian Street down to 416, in a place called One, there lives a peculiar folk. Strange it is because One is no particular place at all, and Ephesian Street cannot be found on a map. For the most part, they are quiet, gentile, and serene people characterized by lowliness, gentleness, and longsuffering. But no one seems to mind as each is happy in their endeavor to maintain a unity of spirit and bond of peace inside and out of the boundary defining their surroundings. No division exists among them.
Each person in One is as industrious as the next, always plying his or her purpose as though it was most important, understanding all the while its relation to neighbors’ endeavor. This harmony is particularly curious as One is a place with no organized administration, only followers. Each respects the other and no one second guesses. All work toward one goal—to maintain a unity of spirit and bond of peace inside and out of the boundary defining their surroundings by equipping each other with the knowledge each possesses. Some are teachers, some healers, some wise and some practical, but all are followers.
Weather in One is generally of a calm nature. Days are sunny and temperatures remain even. Weather in One resembles its inhabitants.
One day, a visitor arrived, looking for a place to rest. Being hospitable, One’s inhabitants obliged the visitor and provided a place to bed for the night and a hearty meal. Waking the next morn, the visitor surveyed the surroundings and, observing the nature of One’s people, decided to stay. As he ambled about his way, seeing their spirit and unity, a thought came over him. No one can be this peaceful and gentle. I should start a rumor and sow discord among them. With that, a wind began to blow. But the people of One remained unified.
Lowering his brow in consternation, the visitor determined to try harder. He thought, I shall, with a loud voice, evangelize foreign doctrines to make their beliefs seem outdated. And the wind blew harder as storm clouds formed and the sky darkened. But the people of One were undeterred in spirit and went about their purpose as usual.
Frustrated, the visitor devised a plan. He thought, I will poison all their livestock and they’ll become hungry and look for a leader to administrate their community. But when their livestock were gone and hunger came, no division between them began and no one asked for a leader to administer their affairs.
Seeing he could not cause strife, the visitor decided to move on. Before he left, he asked, “How is it the people of One remain unified in spirit and bonded in peace?” And with one voice, the response came. “In His hand, we walk in step with the One we follow. There is no other.”
And the clouds rolled away, the skies cleared, and the wind subsided.
For those who have ears… Read Ephesians 4:4-16.