reconcile
Posted: February 16th, 2010 | Filed under: life | 11 Comments »the plot:
Their feet pound as they make their way across the terrain. They are the chosen. They’re His children.
Long journeys make them bored and tired. They get on each other’s nerves. Their stumbles bruise and scrape the people closest to them. It’s tempting to separate yourself from the failures of others.
They’ve been promised something better, but the promise fades when the journey drones.
They bring souvenirs. They take travel advice from the locals. They find ways to make their journey easier, only to find that it makes it harder.
Empty backpacks, abandoned egos and a transient disposition is required, but surely there is something for the ‘self.’ When reward doesn’t come for their hard work or justice for their wounds, they rely on their own interpretation and bring their own repayment.
the conflict:
The ‘hard to come by‘ becomes the goal and soon it’s dog eat dog. Survival of the fittest is a blood bath. Fend for yourself and leave the weak behind.
Their feet pound as they make their way across the terrain. Spread apart and split off. Little ants scattering to find shade from the desert sun. Hunters lost in the woods. Spiraling in circles while a predator watches them, waiting for them to get tired.
If they could have stuck together, they could have fought off the attack. But they didn’t. They’re being drug off, one by one. They’re used against each other. Their desires and what they feel they deserve become the weapons.
Wedges are forged in the lives the chosen. Rivers rage a separation between sickness and healing. They’re designed to be united, but when they’re too far apart to hold each others hands, their sickness lingers.
They have one Source of Blood and the blood ties them together. You can’t get rid of your family because every time you sit down to eat, you have to sit with ‘them’ because when He ‘raised us up with him’ and He ‘seated us with Him.’ (Eph2:6)
They’ve made each other enemies and it takes two to build a bridge over the raging river between them.
The predator seduces and makes you remember the sin. ‘Don’t walk with them, they did you wrong. Don’t trust them, they’ll hurt you again. Don’t forget the sin.’
The predator seduces and makes you feel justified. ‘You’re a good person, it doesn’t have to make sense. You need this. You deserve this.’
The predator tells you whatever you need to hear, whatever you’ll listen to, to separate you from the group. ‘You’re the only one who ‘gets it.’ The others are dragging you down. Dust your feet off and go off on your own. Forge your own path. Be the hero.’
If you are isolated, then you are weak. If you’re afraid, then you’re in the dark. If you have to focus on the sin, then you’re using your pain to feed your actions.
the climax:
If one member suffers, all suffer together…-1 Corinthians 12:26
When you fall down, you have to see it for what it is. You’ve been seduced by the enemy and your weaknesses were used to trip you. Get back up, do your best to fix the mess and keep walking.
If you’ve been hit by a Christian in a tailspin, you have to see it for what it is. You’re walking a rough terrain and tripping is inevitable. I know it hurts, but they’re your family. Help them to their feet and help them pick up the pieces. The sooner the two of you can walk again, the better. You’re connected, so if they’re left behind, so are you. If you try to move forward you’ll find that you can’t because a piece of you is within them.
You have one option when dealing with others. The one option is segmented in two. You either see others as though you’re seeing yourself or you’re seeing others as though they were Jesus. It’s tangled and inseparable. You’re incapable of separating yourself from yourself, so when you refuse to walk with a fellow believer, you’re refusing Jesus.
[Jesus] said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” -Luke 10:27
“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone …that was me—you failed to do it to me.’ -Matthew 25:45
Empty backpacks, abandoned egos and a transient disposition is required. Everyone is either you or Jesus. If you love Him, you’ll love all of them. If you want to walk with Him, you have to walk with the ‘them.’
Are you trying to figure out the godly thing to do with a person? Are you struggling with keeping yourself safe and giving up your right to self? It’s likely that the person you’re holding the furthest from you is the very antibody for what is causing your pain.
The prescription has and will always be Love. Do your part and help build the bridge.
the impressions:
- Do you think it’s important to set aside differences for the sake of the bigger picture?
- What is the bigger picture?
- When you’re sitting at home in your pajamas and you’re not trying to impress anybody, what is that one thing/person/circumstance that is ‘undone’ in your life?
the challenge:
- What can you do today to start being a link for reconciliation?
coming out of the dark
