"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - John 13:34
In John 15 Jesus tells his followers that they will experience joy. He calls them friends and tells them to love one another..(15:17). It takes work to keep things that way. Can I share an experience with you from the early years of my ministry?
It was a beautiful Spring day. The color of Spring was coming back. I was standing on the front lawn of our little church talking to a volunteer (Bill) who made the flowers come alive. We got letters from non members who appreciated the beauty as they drove by. We talked about TV crusades and why people would come forward to receive Christ. Traffic on the street created noise and my parishioner had a hearing aid. Well, we said good by and went about our tasks. 2 weeks and I noticed my friend was not in church. (His wife had not attended the past 5 years due to being offended by the church). Then I heard that the new pastor had offended him....ME. I went and visited him...he told me of not sleeping well and wondered why his pastor had said he was not a Christian. I reflected on our conversation and realized the horrible mistake. Traffic noise, hearing aid, and a quick word that some people who attended those crusades were not Christian....had communicated the wrong thing. He told me of his coming to faith and we cried and apologized and hugged and prayed. We had cleared the air and we were friends again. He (Bill) came back the next Sunday and we enjoyed each other in a fresh way.
Four weeks later i saw a smiling man with his wife sitting next to him. She had witnessed reconciliation and decided that she wanted that as well. She came 'home' and the joy was incredible. Isn't that great? When we live in harmony with each other there is great joy. We become friends with each other. That leaves me with one question: Any healing that you know which needs to take place? If so, let's do it today.
