Recently watched a video on Facebook where it said: “If I were the devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves.”
Amazing point... especially for this past year. The medical and political lines have been drawn, barred, and patrolled by their respective faithful believers. (which is not what this article is about today haha sorry to disappoint) America, and especially the Church is at war with itself. It's sinful, we're in complete contradiction to the unity Christ has required we live in as a representation of Himself. It is something we need to work on first and foremost before almost anything else.
Where do we start?
I feel as though this generation's body of believers has adopted a hippy 70s mindset into the church on what “peace” with your brother is. Which is: not saying anything that could offend someone enough to not want to talk to you or like you. If we pull the curtain back on that one, we'll see Fear Of Man staring us right in the face. Not peace with others.
But the truth is: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is Offensive.
The Gospel is raw and intrusive! The authenticity of the depth of its truth is what changes lives, but most of us consistently live in such a way where it's barely a story that slips from our lips because we're hesitant to overuse it... we want to coach others in life or tell our "truth" which is something we believe is new and fresh or comforting, but it's not.
That is where we fail. (Which failure is nothing to fear, it's a good tool used to correct ourselves!) We fail when we think that watering down the truth or refraining from stepping over the world's ever-changing "boundary" lines will save our brothers and sisters from an eternity of separation from God. On the flip side of that, how can we forge true intimacy between fellow believers if we refuse accountability and vulnerability by allowing confrontation to be a part of our relationships?
The spirit we have allowed into our hearts is Offense. He has run rampant setting flames to our relationships and suffocating each of us into a stricken passivity and therefore sin because we fear others instead of the Father.
Proverbs 18:18 An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.
Proverbs 18:21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Matthew 18:15 If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won a brother.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
The first verse tells us that The Spirit of Offense is like bars around a heart.. nothing can penetrate it. This is very useful to know because it teaches us to study our neighbor; does my neighbor, or do I, or do we both suffer at the hands of Offense? If so, pray for wisdom on how to annihilate it.
Then we are reminded of the vast importance of our words, and how to wield them as weapons for Christ and not accidentally for Satan. This means not relying on impulsivity in conversation, but the marvelous art of strategy!
The third verse tells us that disputes are common and normal, (because we all sin) and it guides us in the way we're supposed to approach our brothers and sisters fiercely and in love. If we're using the full account of scripture then we're talking to our neighbor having already cast out the spirit of offense in our own hearts and deciphered the words to use to soften and affirm the hearts of our neighbor who needs a fierce word in love. If they listen, then according to scripture you have gained a brother! This is unity in the church: Being able to come to one another with hard truths and fierce conversations where it's safe to dive into our authentic perceptions because we have laid a beautiful firm foundation of humility and love where the intent of our hearts is for wanting to be closer to one another and, therefore, to Christ.
This doesn't always mean we will agree on things, even biblical things... but fierce conversations should never be something we as Christians should skirt around, we should be the best at them! Because Jesus gives us the perfect guide.
If you've ever seen iron sharpening iron then you get the picture! Sparks fly.. its a quite literal cutting process... but it's an opportunity to fulfill the law of Christ in true fellowship and none of us can be sharp without someone else whos also being used by the Lord to sharpen us. Community is FOR the body of Christ. How beautiful and merciful it is that He preaches mercy alongside confrontation so that we can always be held to the standard of safety in authenticity.
This is biblical peace. This is what weaves us together into one glorious masterful tapestry! This is what unites the "hands" and the "feet", being able to communicate effectively is a huge part of that. Peace with others is not a 70's movement, it's a Gospel heart-changing requirement that forces you to step out of your comfort zone into the realm of understanding, love, and confrontation.
Loving your neighbor as yourself means that if you want to live righteously then you want the same for your neighbor too because we are ONE IN and WITH Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12) Accountability matters, and the way we handle it matters.
Let's pray against the spirits lurking in the corner of our churches! Let's pray against offended and passive Christianity!
Let's be a strong, body of believers who are for one another! Lets talk!