Relationships

Compound Fracture

In writing about relationships, it’s easy and much more pleasant to write about the warm and fuzzy aspects (which I do a lot.)  But be in any type of relationship long enough and there’s bound to be some conflict (On a side note – it’s so funny to me when people say “I hate conflict.” Are there really people out there who enjoy it?) Things get said, people can hurt, and before you know it, there’s a fractured relationship.

While the painful impact of conflict is no fun to deal with, the real challenge comes in how you respond when you are at the receiving end. Are you willing for the relationship to be restored? Do you actively work to make that happen? Or are you holding tight to the injustice that was wrongly committed against you?

For the Christian, the Bible is clear about how we should respond. When Peter asked Jesus how often he should forgive, He aptly responded “70 times 7” – conveying that forgiveness was expected as many times as it was needed. As followers of our Lord, we are called to emulate Him, not only in how we live, but in how we respond to those who have grieved us (Col. 3:13). Forgiveness is commanded because it restores love, and the watching world will measure our commitment to Christ based on how we love each other.

Additionally, it is important for the Christian to forgive because of what unforgiveness does to the person holding the grudge.  When I choose not to forgive, I am taking the sin of someone who has wronged me and making it my own. Yes, they may have been unjust in how they treat me, but now I’m in error in choosing to withhold forgiveness. I have increased the sin in the equation by adding my sin to their own.

And Christians should be all about wanting to reduce sin. We want our lives to look increasingly more like Christ’s which means we have to increasingly reduce the divergence between how we’re living and His commands. Unfortunately, instead of displaying the kind of love that Christ did when He sacrificed His very life for those that were His enemies (Rom. 5:8), when someone wrongs us, we often create wider wedges, deepening the fault lines in a relationship. Instead of just a regular break, we make it a compound fracture – slower to heal, and with longer lasting effects.

May we be quick to heal breaks, so that the Body of Christ can fully function with every part working together for His glory.

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Growth

An Altared Life

Often when reading the Old Testament, there is a lot that doesn’t make sense to our modern mindsets. We read about genealogies, and ritualistic laws and wonder what they have to do with our salvation in Christ. It’s easy to gloss over them; to think that the fact that we live under the New Covenant means that the old one doesn’t matter. However, we do this at our peril because the New Covenant is often explained and articulated in light of the old covenant’s terms and traditions.

One such thing that may catch us off guard as we read the books of the laws and prophets is the number and frequency of the sacrificies that were made. The regular reminder of the Israelites’ sins and the atonenment that would be provided through their (and our) Messiah may now seem inconsequential. What was future looking for them, is now done and accomplished for us.  However, as with many things, Scripture uses this old convenant imagery to help us understand how we should live in light of the ultimate sacrifice that our Savior made.  Romans 12:1 says that we should “offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice.” Throughout his epistles, Paul writes that he is being “poured out like a drink offering.” (Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6)  In other words, because of the ultimate sacrifice, our lives are now offered to God, we are dead to ourselves, just like the animals that were set abalze.

However, we need to remember that the place that the animals were offered, the altar, had another purpose as well. The altar was not only the place where sacrifices were made, but they were the reminder of God’s faithfulness and provisions. They were testaments to the work that God had done and the places that He had brought His people from. Simiarily, our lives should be ablaze with the evidence of what God has done in them. When people look at us they should see the changes that could only come through the refining fire of His hands. We should be a light to the world, not only in delivering the Good News, but in glorifying God through our lives.  Just like the altars of old, our lives should put God on display.

May we do so. May our lives not just be a living sacrifice, but may they may a testament to the great God Who we serve.

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