Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Being Neighborly

Growing up in the country there were not many people close by. Those that were relied on each other for help at times, maybe share a meal, and to watch out for each others property. In a way, you could say we were building each other up by building a “neighborly” network.

Today, there are many types of networks we can use to make connections to others. Social media is one, PTO at school, and church. Most of the time this works well. Sometimes not so much. I have seen some less than positive exchanges on social media sites, and heated arguments at PTO meetings that made me wonder if maybe the children had showed up instead of the parents. Perhaps the most unfortunate is when misunderstandings and miscommunications happen at church.

We expect the church to be a place where people connect and act like Jesus to each other. All too often I hear sad stories about how people felt injured by others at church, or even those in positions of leadership. Those injuries appear to run deep.

Please take a moment and pray today for those that attend where you attend. Stop and think if you may have said something that could be taken badly. If so, seek out that person and as for forgiveness. Have you been hurt? Pray and ask God to take away the pain. You may want to ask if you should speak to that person about what was said.

Let’s all work toward building unity with our fellow believers. Isn’t that what God asks?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You for being our King and our role model. Thank You for helping us the times we got it right. Please forgive us for the times we did not get it right. And please help us to not hurt others with our words and actions. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.