Ephesians 4:1-3

Can we please ALL read that again???

"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."

This is my prayer for the Body of Christ:

My heart is breaking for so many things. I cry in my bed because I don't understand how we could all talk about our wonderful Jesus (ah...and I love Him! We ALL love Him, don't we?) and about healing and acceptance and love; yet be so gossipy, envious, bitter, allusive, and unforgiving towards each other. It's sneaky...it's clever...Satan knows what he's doing...it's never as obvious to us, ourselves, as what we think about when we speak of that stuff. And of this very thing, I am guilty.

It breaks my heart.

Let's ALL read Ephesians 4:1-3 again.

"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."

I don't care what our "reason" is. I don't care what our "boundaries" are. I don't care what our "wisdom" tells us. It's not an issue of reason--it's not a game around boundaries and wisdom. I want us to listen to the wisdom of Jesus--the humility of His way--the openness and patience and willingness to "bear with" the other in love...

I want us to give second and third and fourth and fifth and seventy-times-seven chances.

I am so close to saying, "God, Can't we all just get along?!"


Then again, I guess this could just be coming from the peace-maker side of me.

Lord, hear my honest plea--I'm not asking that You help us "sweep" all our conflicts "under the carpet." But help us put our effort toward fighting for peace with one another rather than avoiding and begrudging each other...

...maybe I just don't understand.
...maybe I am just naive.

But if You hear nothing else... at least hear the child in me that wants to see her friends next to her, being welcomed into Jesus' arms too...
...there in the "unity of the Spirit."


Oh Ephesians 4 :1-3...

"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."

Can't we all just...read that again?