I am thanking and praising God for the encouraging comments posted under chapter one. I'm blessed to be serving alongside these faithful and hardworking men. As the leaders post their comments to chapter two, we want to open the discussion to anyone who might be reading along. Feel free to post a comment or a reply.
I was struck by these two sentences on page 46 in chapter two. "This peace, which is often referred to as 'unity' (Ps. 133:1) is not simply the absence of conflict and strife. Unity is the presence of genuine harmony, understanding, and goodwill between people." These statements were in a section titled "Peace with Others", and it reminded me of how low I'm tempted to set the bar when it comes to resolving problems in a relationship. I also was stopped by the phrase on page 53 "...unity does not mean uniformity (Eph 4:7-13)."
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
Matthew 28:19 KJV
Matthew 28:19 KJV
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Page 54: ".. there is not one church in a thousand in the U.S. that is committed and prepared to obey God's command to help its members resolve legal issues out of court."
I'm afraid this might be true for FBC (the prepared part, not the committed part.) We should be prepared to obey with a written policy if we're called upon to mediate.
I was also impressed that recent Supreme Court Justices are well versed in God's word!
I think that if we as a church family learn to settle our differences in a Godly way, our relationships will grow in caring for each other and love for one another. This peace, caring and love is what the church family is all about, and it doesn't get any better than that. Well, at least not till we get to heaven.
Peace is a characteristic of God and God commands us to seek and persue Peace. Christ's mission was to bring Peace to the world in that He gave His life so that we can have Peace with God the Father.
There are three levels of Peace. One is Peace with God which was accomplished thru Christ's death. Two is Peace with others which was taught by Christ during His earthly ministry. And three is Peace within ourselves which can not be accomplished unless we have the previous two.
I found it interesting in that Peace with others isn't simply the absence of conflict and strife; but is the presence of genuine harmony, understanding, and good will. WOW, how powerful is that thought!!! So many times we feel like we have accomplished the Peace thing if we just avoid conflict. Not so!!
Internal Peace is a gift from God, and we can do nothing thru our own efforts to obtain it. When strife and conflict characterize our relationships with others, we will have very little success in sharing the Good News of Christ with others. Why would they see a need for Christ in their life if we act just like the un-saved world?
It is really hard but we are commanded to show Love to others even when it is the last thing we feel like doing.
Lastly, we can either follow God in Peace and Unity or follow Satan in conflict and division. We can either follow God in focusing on others and their needs or follow Satan in focusing on ourselves and our wants. It is OUR choice!!!