I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You.
Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are one.
(John 17)
Unity.
It is the over-arching theme of the entire Bible: How will man be reconciled with God? How will unity be re-established in His Kingdom?
Sometimes various leaders of different churches will come together to discuss Kingdom issues. Author Brian McLaren once compared these types of meetings to watching a bunch of football players come hobbling off the field after a brutal game. They’ve been beaten up, tossed around, but have fought hard. McLaren notes, however, that these leaders are often tackled by their own Christian brethren… and that “the ones who are the meanest often seem to be the ones who know the most about the Bible”.
Why is that?
As a minister, I have a front-row seat to the event, and it can be surprisingly unpleasant. I am continually amazed at how often we lose perspective, how quickly we take the ball and run the opposite way on the field, how we forget which team we’re on.
Arguments will happen. I argued with my brothers, and being the oldest would sometimes physically force them to let me win! The members of the church in Corinth argued – a lot. Jesus’ disciples argued. Luke 9:46 states that “an argument started among the disciples as to which of them might be the greatest”.
But since when did a bad argument give us license to draw lines of friendship, fellowship, family?
In Jesus’ wonderfully passionate prayer in John 17, He cries out to the Lord on behalf of his followers. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity…”
Come together. Reunite. Converge.
This will be a difficult challenge. There is little that I or anyone else can do to hold you accountable to this. It is between you and God…
Challenge #23: Erase the lines. Who, in the church, has hurt you, offended you? Who continues to be a thorn in your flesh, a constant source of friction? Think about it… then… forgive them. Seriously, this will only work if you are willing to be bold enough, strong enough to pull the sliver from your heart. Forgive them. Let it go. All that you need to comment on is a statement that you have completed, or will honestly try to complete this challenge.
Reunite the body of Christ. Remember Jesus’ words, “We are one – I in them, and You in Me”.
Converge. Bring the team closer. Let’s move the ball forward – together.
Saturday’s Challenge #24: LISTEN
You are only one week away.
Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are one.
(John 17)
Unity.
It is the over-arching theme of the entire Bible: How will man be reconciled with God? How will unity be re-established in His Kingdom?
Sometimes various leaders of different churches will come together to discuss Kingdom issues. Author Brian McLaren once compared these types of meetings to watching a bunch of football players come hobbling off the field after a brutal game. They’ve been beaten up, tossed around, but have fought hard. McLaren notes, however, that these leaders are often tackled by their own Christian brethren… and that “the ones who are the meanest often seem to be the ones who know the most about the Bible”.
Why is that?
As a minister, I have a front-row seat to the event, and it can be surprisingly unpleasant. I am continually amazed at how often we lose perspective, how quickly we take the ball and run the opposite way on the field, how we forget which team we’re on.
Arguments will happen. I argued with my brothers, and being the oldest would sometimes physically force them to let me win! The members of the church in Corinth argued – a lot. Jesus’ disciples argued. Luke 9:46 states that “an argument started among the disciples as to which of them might be the greatest”.
But since when did a bad argument give us license to draw lines of friendship, fellowship, family?
In Jesus’ wonderfully passionate prayer in John 17, He cries out to the Lord on behalf of his followers. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity…”
Come together. Reunite. Converge.
This will be a difficult challenge. There is little that I or anyone else can do to hold you accountable to this. It is between you and God…
Challenge #23: Erase the lines. Who, in the church, has hurt you, offended you? Who continues to be a thorn in your flesh, a constant source of friction? Think about it… then… forgive them. Seriously, this will only work if you are willing to be bold enough, strong enough to pull the sliver from your heart. Forgive them. Let it go. All that you need to comment on is a statement that you have completed, or will honestly try to complete this challenge.
Reunite the body of Christ. Remember Jesus’ words, “We are one – I in them, and You in Me”.
Converge. Bring the team closer. Let’s move the ball forward – together.
Saturday’s Challenge #24: LISTEN
You are only one week away.
Well piss JD! We have talked about this... you like to see me do the impossible don't you? I will try. I have two people and neither of them is going to be easy. Actually, the forgiveness part has already been done (I just haven't told them that) but it is forgetting and letting that hurt go that is the hard part... the part that keeps me from letting them back in. And the fact that one of them keeps doing the same thing over and over and over again. I know you said the only comment that was needed was a yes i'll try or yes I did it, but I needed to share to be held accountable.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope everyone going on the retreat has an awesome, challenging, God filled time!
im going to try. this may not be easy.
ReplyDeleteYikes. I knew a challenge like this would come along. And JD, I know you know who I will try this with. It's hard. I've already begun this, but it's way difficult. I'm trying though.
ReplyDeleteDanielle, forgiveness and trust are NOT the same thing.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeletethis is going to be hard but i
will try it
Faith
i will try to forgive the girl who stole my best friend from me. it will be hard.
ReplyDelete-Molly
hmm this timing is pretty good. theres a certain person ive been pretty mad at...they didnt actually do me any wrong or anything like, i just found myself really disliking them. So i guess this is Him reminding me thats not the attitude i need.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough one for me... I know someone that is a Christian. This person has continued to cause me grief after an event that I have had a hard time to put behind me. I have resolved to forgive this person and move on...
ReplyDeleteTHIS FEELS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank You God for the gift of forgiveness...
Most of the people I struggle with forgiving are outside the church, but there are a couple are part of our body that I find it hard to forgive - not so much because of what they've done to me, but because of what they've done to others. I resolve to forgive and try to forget these past offenses, because I need the forgiveness that my God and others offer me regularly.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to forgive. I have to work on the forgetting part. I pray about this often and will try harder. I have to remember God is in control and will working His plan for all things.
ReplyDeleteDylon
ReplyDeleteI'm usually good at this but it still might be
hard.
Well, This is definitely going to be a difficult one but I'm doing it.
ReplyDeletedifficult.. but i've got this.
ReplyDeleteThis is gonna be so hard
ReplyDeletei will give it my all...HIS all.
ReplyDelete(leslie)
Jd im gonna do it. it might be hard but i will show gods love...
ReplyDeleteBlake
I will forgive the person/people who have hurt me. If i die trying. i will forgive.
ReplyDeleteI actually did this before I knew about this challenge...just a couple days before then, but I did it!
ReplyDeleteI have forgiven a boy at school and we are reaally good friends now.
ReplyDeleteI will try to remember some boys at school who were dissing a girl I know in Phys. Ed. She was trying to be goalie, but didn't have very much experience in the goal. Wre lost, and a bunch of (IDIOTIC) boys were thowing her under the bus. She hates them all with a passion and wants to get back. I told her that they just needed someone to degrade to feel whole, that they didn't want to take the blame, so they shoved it on her. But I also said that when I tell myself that, I would still like to kick them in the soft spot. I usually start to stew about it and get madder, so I'm gonna have to let this go...
ReplyDelete