We live in an age of independence.
We want to be our own persons. We can, with the help of technology, hide in our
own little cocoons and only come up occasionally for air. But this is not God’s
concept as to how His people should be related to one another. We are told that
we are all part of one body (1 Corinthians 12:12-25; Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians
4:11-16). The result of this should be unity within the body (Philippians
2:3,4; Ephesians 4:1-6; Galatians 3:26-29). This is meant to go beyond an
abstraction and to be reflected in how we live together and relate to one
another. We are to sympathize with one another in our joys and struggles
(Romans 12:15,16; 1 Corinthians 12:25; Galatians 6:2). But what does this look
like in practice?
We stand by each other in times of
trouble. We pray for and encourage each other (James 5:13-15; Ephesians
6:18,19; Hebrews 10:25). We need one another’s prayers, to be strengthened and
encouraged by them. And there is something humbling about asking others to pray
for us; it takes the edge off our egos (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:6.7; Luke
14:8-11). It is easy to get the “I do not need anybody; I can take care of
myself” attitude. Even the idea “God and I can handle it, and we do not need
anyone else” can be a dangerous thing. Rather, God wants us to allow other
people to pray for us and help us.
The other thing we need to be
willing to do is admit our sins to one another and let others pray for us and
encourage us (James 5:16; Hebrews 12:12,13; 10:24). It is important to be willing
to confess our sins, first to God (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9: Psalms 32:5),
then to other Christians. Now you do need to be careful who you confess your
sins to. There needs to be a relationship of trust there before you do. But
overcoming the secrecy is part of breaking sin’s hold over us. Also, there are
occasions when you need to correct those who are not yet willing to admit to
their sin (James 5:19,20; Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15-20). This can be
extremely hard. I do believe there is a place where love covers a multitude of
sins (1 Peter 4:8). Sometimes we to realize we are all in process and not
perfect yet (Philippians 3:12-16). But there is a point where sin needs to be
addressed, but with gentleness. It is part of being the body of Christ that there
are times we need to correct each other. If can be difficult for both parties,
but there is a point where it needs to be done.
There are dangers in crawling out of
our cocoons, but the benefits are worth it. For it is here God puts us through
the process of rubbing away our self-centeredness that we might be genuine
followers of Him (Philippians 2:2-11; Romans 12:9,10; 1 Corinthians 13:1-7).
No comments:
Post a Comment