Therefore...

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

Here’s why we must speak truth of and to each other.  If we don’t, we’re cutting off our own leg.

What if our hand was hurting and our leg could rise up and kick our hand to the curb?  We’d then be without a hand.  Instead, the leg could buck up, run faster and harder, while the hand has time to heal. And the leg could offer the hand words of kindness and love so that the wound to the hand heals quickly.

It has been said that the church is good at shooting its wounded, and unfortunately that is true many times.  I think it’s because we stay wounded ourselves, and wounded miserable people want like company.

The truth is that He has come to save and the heal us from ALL transgressions (sins – things we do that we know aren’t right) and we are all part of the same body in need of that salvation – as stated a day or two ago.

Let’s lay down our weapons of mass destruction – criticism, accusation, scorn – and love one another as He loved us.

And then, maybe then, we will begin to heal and the madness will stop.

One One One

Ephesians 4 says, Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Once we recognize that there is one body and one Lord who is over all of us, then we are called to walk in that knowledge…

With humility – honoring others above ourselves.

With gentleness – never scolding but always loving

With patience – extending mercy toward others and ourselves

With tolerance – not of evil but of differences

With diligence – working hard to remain united as One

That’s a tall order.  And we cannot do it without his help.  He enables us to love in all of these ways, because of his Spirit that lives in us.  He strengthens us to be small, so that He can be big, and instead of seeing us – others see Him – and want to know his great love.

All One

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

I love this verse.

In our world, there is race, there is economic status, there is popularity, there is beauty and ugliness, there is old and young, and there is you and me.  And we have these divisions according to where we fall on all of those spectrums.  And for some sad reason, we can’t seem to join at the middle, but rather we stay on our opposite ends and judge and criticize and avoid.

Oneness in Christ means putting away all of these divisions and it even means asking Him for eyes that no longer see these differences. 

I love that my kids grew up in a racially diverse school setting, because I truly believe it helped them learn to see past color.  I appreciate that I go to church with those who have more than I do moneywise, and those who have less.  It enables me to give…and to receive…both wonderful blessings in life.  And I enjoy the fact that we all look different, because none of us has the perfect complete package.  And that makes us depend on each other for your strong arms, and my keen eyes.

In Jesus, we are all seen as his children that he loves dearly and holds nothing good from us – from all of us – who believe.

Don’t you love that, too?

One who Shone

II Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

This is what combines us all together as ONE – the fact that we were all living in darkness (sin, which causes us to stumble as one who is blind and has no guidance) and the light (the love of Christ) dispelled the darkness and showed us the way.

Jesus is our Oneness.  He’s our level playing field.  I’m not better than you, you’re not better than me, and we are not below or above each other.  We are all in need of a Savior and when he comes to us, he makes us ONE in him – all sinners saved by grace.

That just means that there is no room for pride in the Body of Christ, because with him we would be lost forever.  But with him, we are given forgiveness and eternal life.  And that offer stands for anyone…and everyone.

Let us remember that when we are tempted to fight among ourselves.  We are One because of his love and mercy and grace extended to us in our sinful state…apart from Him.

Though Many...

I Corinthians 12

…But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.  For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

Prior to this verse, we read about different gifts given to each of us who love the Lord.  We know that we all have different gifts, all operating together, and when they do – this makes for a healthy body. 

Wouldn’t it be silly for the body to be all one leg, or one eye or one foot?  In the same way it would be just as silly to have all of our parts but they all function exactly the same.  They don’t.  Each part of our physical body functions differently, but they all rely on the oneness of our body to function well.

When our eyes are weak and tired, they rely on our brain to tell us to shut them and sleep.  When we cut ourselves, the rest of the body rallies to stop the bleeding…in a healthy body.

One body, operating in many capacities, at full strength and wholeness, and that’s a marathon gold medal winner, right?

And that’s what Christ has called us to be…ONE.

Make for Peace

Romans 14 and 15: So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another…so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here’s that word again three times…

Build up ONE another

With ONE accord

With ONE voice

I want to purpose to speak only words of kindness this month of December, as I shop, wrap, give and receive.

I want to purpose to get along with my family, my neighbor, and the stranger driving beside me on the street or waiting in line next to me in the store.

I want to purpose to glorify God in what I say, sing, do, and think, because he is worthy of my praise.

ONE.

It’s a powerful thing.

One X 3

Romans 14 says For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

The word “one” is in this passage three times.

We don’t live for ourselves.  Everything we do affects those around us in a good way…or a bad way.

We don’t die for ourselves.  What we leave behind us after we’re gone affects those in our realm of influence.

We do give account of ourselves…to God.  He will ultimately look at what we’ve done and didn’t do.

And thankfully, we are under the blood and grace of Jesus, or we’d all fall short.

Knowing that each ONE will give account, let’s make sure our assets column far exceeds our deficits.  And the only way to do that is to be ONE with him in heart and soul in our love for HIM first and then for others…as we love ourselves.