| 1 Peter 3:8-9 – “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” |
If a brother or sister offends us, do we tend to write them off, forget about their friendship, or worse yet, assume the Lord doesn’t like them either? (lol)
Christians are to be of one mind. Consider a body of water with an assortment of sticks and stones, all being frozen together as one. Christians are quite the variety, yet we are one body in Christ. We are all in this together, and the Lord tells us to treat each other well. We rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep and give aid to those in need. We ought not to be indifferent, but strong hearted towards each other.
Sometimes, part of the body disappoints us. It may be momentarily gratifying to return slight for slight, but we do that when our focus is off target. Our struggle is not with flesh, but with Satan. He and his demons use people as pawns to war against God. The one who has just let you down, may have unknowingly tumbled as a part of Satan’s scheme. When we choose to be bitter or to not forgive, we fall into his evil scheme as well. Jesus set the example for praying and blessing those who insulted Him. We must stay focused on bringing honor to God. He has given us the opportunity to bless others by giving attention to their well-being, and in turn, He blesses us. Has someone offended you? Honor God and pray for them. Do it now before you have time to change your mind!
We ask God to ‘forgive us our sins as we forgive others.’ Why would we consider for a moment forfeiting blessings from God, on account of someone who has offended us? How fortunate are we, to inherit a blessing by merely being good to those who are not good to us? I really get excited thinking about heaven and the rewards in store for us. I want all of us to be excited about that. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor can the heart of man imagine what God has prepared for those who love Him!
We need to love each other in this journey to heaven! Remember, we are in it together!
–Vicki Rance
