Living a life that Matters

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 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 4:1-6

This idea of unity within the church has been on my mind lately. It’s very important for a church to function effectively as one body. Christ is very clear about this in scripture.

Because I’m volunteer staff at my church and not totally 100% involved, people like to tell me their problems. Most of their issues are related to someone else they have problems with. I actually find this quite humorous at times. But at times I find it sad. Because most of the stuff I hear is just back talk about another person… or gossip. I usually don’t comment when I hear this stuff and just smile and move on.

I have also noticed a lot of division within the church as well. People who aren’t talking to another person because they are angry or upset. I will tell you that this is going on with me as well. I have a couple of people who avoid me at church. I’ve tried to reach out, but have had no success. I really don’t get this. I’m kinda of quirky in a way that I can shrug those situations off until they are ready to talk. I’ve done what I can. I have a close relationship as well that went south and just hasn’t been the same. Its hurts. It still hurts today. Yet people seem to think that ignoring the situation and not owning up to their problems is the easy way out. It makes no sense to me. Its wrong.

Christ is so clear about fixing your problems with your brother before coming to church. He is so clear that the longer you let things linger, the harder it is to fix. The sad thing is all the situations mentioned above involve people who are leaders within the church. And believe me, I throw myself in this mix. I’m a firm believer in Proverbs 27:5-6. I’ve written some ’tough love’ emails in the past few months that have angered some people. I’m probably not the best communicator in opening up about how I feel about things.

I only bring this up for one reason. Unity. Christ calls for unity in His church. A church can’t function well with these problems. I will tell you that I find it hard to come to church because of my own issues going on. It has affected my own ministry. I feel very distracted at times. But then I remember that the church is made up of sinners. We are human. But we need to strive to do better. Cornerstone is an amazing church. It has an amazing body of believers. Yet we can’t let the enemy break us up and cause so much division. We need to support and encourage each other. We need to be like Christ and demonstrate love for one another.

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philppians 2:1-4