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| Can't We All Just Get Alone? |
As Christians, most of us know we're supposed to “get along” with one another, but it's not always as easy as it sounds. It's one thing to sit down at Church and sing “Oh, How I Love Jesus” but it's another to leave the Church, and learn to love one another in everyday life.
Our ability to relate and get along with others in peace and perfect harmony is the foundation to Christianity. How we treat and interact with one another has a profound impact on our ability to function effectively in life. It's no secret that in the midst of the Church there are and will be disagreements and misunderstandings among the believers. Although we may disagree at times there should never be any bitterness or hatred towards one another.
In Ephesians 4:31-32, It says “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” We all have been hurt and wronged in our lives; therefore, we tend to become angry and bitter.
A bitter person is his or her own worst enemy. Bitterness is one of the most severe spiritual problems in the life of a person. Bitterness is the sharp emotion that is generally the result of anger allowed to fester. It is an attitude that will always render a Christian useless in the Body of Christ. When a Christian is bitter, there is a loss of fellowship with the Lord and a hindrance in one's relationship with Jesus Christ and one’s fellowman. Bitterness causes a loss of many blessings of the normal Christian life, including emotional stability, peace, and joy. And bitterness results in the loss of production of good works, which are a major source of blessings and reward in the plan of God. It is very difficult to maintain any kind of relationship with a bitter person; and bitterness is a major contributing cause of marital and family problems.
However, forgiveness is the spiritual process of cleansing oneself of the bitterness and anger that exist in our hearts against another person for an offence, difference or mistake. Forgiveness is the most important part of a Christian life and we must remember that forgiveness is a gift, not something we can win or take for granted.
Through forgiveness comes Love, and Love is the sign of a true Christian. If Christ is living in our heart, we can love and get along with one another. The reason for this is once we have experienced God’s mercy, we realize how blessed we are to have Christ in our life. In spite of our weaknesses his grace gives us strength to overcome. God tells us to love one another just as He has loves us. Because we are in Christ and Christ is in us, God has declared us to be holy; He wants us to be holy in our actions. We are to be like Him, which means we are to be different from the world around us. We are not to treat others as they treat us but we are to treat them as God treats us, with compassion, forgiveness, gentleness, humility, kindness, patience, and love. Love is the perfect bond that keeps us together.
1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” If God’s love lives inside of us, we will have that kind of love for others. Let’s begin today by putting aside our anger, bitterness, differences, hatred, and our divisions that exist between us. Can we all just get along?
©By: Dr. Christopher D. Handy
http://justiceforchrishandy.homestead.com
http://www.revchristopherhandy.com
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Posted by writer1966 on 2009-10-18 23:21:52 | Rating: | Views: 27
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