Recurring Themes

Had a blessed day visiting the saints. In the morning I went to Waterford, Ct, spent part of an idyllic afternoon with my friends Chris & Carolyn in E. CT & visited some saints in Boxborough, MA in the evening. A long day for a middle aged geezer. Give me more. As I reflect on everything that God did I am reminded of several themes that He keeps ministering to me.
1. The absolute indispensability of genuine, deep friendships. They require availability, trust, forbearance and perseverance but they are worth everything we invest in them. Sadly, they seem much harder to gain than to lose. May I encourage you to persevere. I know many will say that it is too painful, they have made many efforts in vain. So have I. Don't give up.
2. The importance of forgiveness. Unforgiveness is the spiritual equivalent of cancer. It will eat away at your inner being the same way cancer eats away at a physical body. God forgave you and me. We need to forgive others. "Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against one another, forgiving one another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." Col. 3:13
3. Relational Unity: When Jesus prays in John 17: 20-23 for unity what kind of unity is He praying for? Throughout the ages the Church has said either organizational or doctrinal unity or some combination of the two. Has this worked? Have we not had incessant battles over these things? I am not opposed to either organization (of the true NT model) or apostolic doctrine yet I believe Jesus refers to something else here. He prays that we might be one as He and the Father are one. How are they one? Organizationally? In doctrine? That's not an issue for them. I think we find a clue in the continual reference to God as Father in the NT, and Jesus as the Son and us as brothers (over 200x) or sisters as the case may be. This is relational, familial language. Does God want an organization or a family? Consider the continually reiterated command to love another. We probably will never be in the same local church with one another, and it is hard to imagine that we will ever agree on every nuance of doctrine absent divine intervention yet we can love one another, receive each other as brothers or sisters, respect and care for each other. In short, we can walk as the family of God in relational unity.