Remember the Price

The easiest way to live the Christian life is to live on a deserted island.  That may not work for everyone.  There was the man who was deserted on an island for ten years.  When he was rescued, the rescuers found that he had built three buildings, so they asked him what they were.  The man said, "the first building is my home and the second building is my church."  They asked, "what was the third building."  He replied, "that is my old church that went to until I got mad and left."

I know that whenever two or three are gathered together in the Lord's name, He is there in the midst of them.  But I have also found it to be true that when two are three are gathered, you have the potential for hurt feelings and broken relationships. Too often those hurt feelings lead to disharmony and disunity within the church.  When that happens the church does not function for we are called to live and work together as one body.

Yes, it may be easier to live the Christian life alone but what would be the point.  Jesus prayed that our unity and love for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ would be a testimony to the world that He was sent by the Father.  That is the end result of our learning to love one another, points to the veracity of Christ's mission.

In the body of Christ, we will get our feelings hurt because we are all sinners saved by grace.  We are at the same time just and sinner, and have the capacity to hurt and disappoint one another.  Therefore, we must be willing to go the second mile in giving grace to those who hurt us.  When someone hurts or disappoints me, I need to see them as "under construction" for God is not done with them yet, just as He is not finished making me into what He wants me to be.  I must give grace upon grace and love upon love to all those in the body of Christ.

When I grow tired of protecting the unity of the body of Christ, I need to remember how valuable that unity is.  The Bible teaches us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.  In so doing, He reconciled us to each other.  But what was the price for this reconciliation.  On the cross, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me."  The Triune God existed in perfect unity for all eternity,  except for one moment on the cross, when my sins were placed on God, the Son.  In that moment, the relationship that had been in perfect unity was broken, so that we could be reconciled to God and to each other.

The more valuable something is, the more careful you are in handling it. Apparently, God places a high value on our unity for He paid the highest price to purchase it.  If our unity is that precious, we should handle it with care.  Think about it.