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Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. (2 Timothy 1:13-17 NKJV)
There’s something about this passage that could easily be overlooked by many: Paul was not only demonstrating how committed he was to Jesus Christ in that he was willing to be imprisoned for the preaching of the gospel; he was also expressing emotional pain as he reflected on the idea of how certain people had turned away from him. Indeed, Paul was going through one of the darkest times of his life as he was in chains for essentially loving people enough to share Jesus with them. And when these people should have been by his side offering him their support, they shamelessly turned away from him instead. It’s likely that they did this because they didn’t like something about his message. After all, the idea of turning away from someone presupposes that you were with them at some point. Hence many threw him out of their lives like they would have thrown out their trash, and Paul was obviously deeply hurt by this. [continue reading…]
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10 NKJV)
Why are so many claiming to be Christians at each others throats? Why do we feel the need to argue with one another over things that are really non-issues? Why all the gossip and backbiting? Do these things not evidence that we aren’t where we’re supposed to be as a Church?
When we ought to be united in Christ we are tearing each other to shreds instead. But that’s not the worst of it: there are many who seem to think that the only people who really matter in the Church are those who belong to their social clique. At least that is the impression that they give off anyway. [continue reading…]
