Live in harmony with one another. Romans 12:16
Harmony, as all musicians know, is a pleasing arrangement of different parts. You get harmony when different notes are brought together so that one note enriches and complements another.
But harmony is not the same thing as unison. You don’t get harmony by everyone playing the same note. So harmony does not mean everyone thinks the same, does the same, or is the same. Harmony is not unison; harmony is not discord either. Discord is when notes are brought together in such a way that one note diminishes and distorts another.
“Live in harmony with one another” means to live in such a way that you enrich and complement each other—together you are more than any of you would be on your own. There is a beauty that comes from taking what is distinct and different and making it one.
This is at the heart of marriage. God makes the man and the woman, and the two are different, but in marriage they become one. There is a beautiful complementarity in which, like two notes in a chord, they are more together than either of them could be on their own.
You also see this in the nature of God. There is one God and He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is one in nature, one in purpose, and one in love. There is a beauty, a glory, a peace, a joy, a blessing, a harmony that we see in God and that flows from God.
God speaks about the same thing here to His church. “Live in harmony with one another.” The one another here refers to Christian brothers and sisters, redeemed by Christ, and brought together in the family of God. Our distinct calling as Christians is to live in harmony.
Where are you struggling the most to live in harmony with others? Why?
