Good Morning All,
Romans 12:10; “Love one
another with
brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Do you remember the song “Why can’t we be
Friends?” It came out in the
mid-1970’s. It was about 3¾ minutes long
and repeated the line “Why can’t we be friends?” 47 times. Not a lot of lines to learn. Ironically, it was sung by a group called
“War.” Yet it asked a basic question,
why can’t we be friends? Why is it
difficult to get along? It seems that it
is easier to stir up hatred and dissension than it is to foster peace and
harmony, but why is this?
First and
foremost, it is our sinful nature at work.
Sin wants only hatred and dissension to abound. In doing so, it can sow the seeds of despair
and try to cause us to doubt God’s love for us.
Yet God completely and thoroughly empowers us to do battle with the
devil in this arena. He calls us, as his
children, to love one another in a brotherly fashion. Yet sometimes this can be very difficult to
do, our sinful nature pushes us to distrust others. Yet God wants us to love. So here are some ideas to think about and
pray about as we ask God to strengthen our attempt to be his loving children.
One of the
first things we need to overcome is the belief that we are so different from
each other. We tend to focus on the
visual and try to see how we are different; yet we are far more alike than we
are different. We all want our children
and our grandchildren to succeed in life.
We all worry about our health and the health of our loved ones. We all mourn the death of those we love. We are far more the same than we are
different and if we focus on that truth, honoring and loving one another will
be easier.
Another
obstacle for us is often fear. We tend
to fear what we do not know. Ask anyone
how they felt the first night they slept in their new home and heard the creaks
and the moans. It can be the same with
our neighbor. Until we work out the
“creaks and groans” of our relationship it can be tough. Yet that is the crux of being friends, it is
usually not a difference of opinion that separates people, it is usually a lack
of understanding and fear keeps us from trying to understand one another.
The greatest
obstacle is our own selfishness. We are
willing to see two sides to a story unless one of the sides is mine then the
other doesn’t matter. So here is our
greatest task, to ask God to give us a willing heart and a patient spirit. Then we need to practice what we pray
for. We need to attempt to understand
and to see others for who they are, God’s beloved creatures. We are all to be children of the heavenly
Father. So, seek to love one another
with brotherly affection.
Father of
love, guide us to be brothers one to another.
Lead us by your Spirit to seek reconciliation and relationships and not
anger and distrust. We ask that you heal
those who are wounded and are in broken relationships. We especially pray for those families which
are broken. Send your healing
Spirit. In the name of Jesus, our risen
Savior. Amen
God’s Peace,
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