Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

Reading From Ephesians 4

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,who is over all and through all and in all.”—Ephesians 4:2-6

God doesn’t want us fighting with our brothers and sisters in His family. He wants us to treat one another with enough dignity and respect to really listen to each other, attempt to understand where the other is coming from, and maybe even learn from one another as iron sharpens iron. That sharpening can be difficult as we need the courage to have tough conversations about things we disagree with.

I’m not trying to be disparaging, but lately I don’t see a lot of effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Instead, the heated rhetoric is turned up and spouted out lately in passive aggressive ways and then rather than truly listening to each other, we leave the church and find a new one or stop talking to the one we disagree with. If we are to live as the Prince of Peace wants us to, we must slow our love for God by loving each other. We can do this by diligently seeking greater clarity, charity and understanding.

“God help us to learn and grow together in unity. Inspire us to do the hard work of building healthy relationships. In Your Name I pray, Amen.”

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another,forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.—Ephesians 4:29-32