The Plumbline

Brothers and sisters, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are following the Spirit should go to the one who is sinning. Help make that person right again, and do it in a gentle way. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin too. Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to do this, you are only fooling yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Just look at your own work to see if you have done anything to be proud of. You must each accept the responsibilities that are yours. (Galatians 6:1-5) Have you ever tried to 'nag' someone into obedience? It doesn't work well, does it? In the long run, one or both of you will come to have ill feelings toward the other. Nagging doesn't change behavior - it might even intensify it as the other seeks to magnify the 'annoyance' the disobedience brings you! We all do things we shouldn't do from time to time -...

Each one of us has one body, and that body has many parts. These parts don’t all do the same thing. In the same way, we are many people, but in Christ we are all one body. We are the parts of that body, and each part belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:4-5) "A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick." (Brene Brown) What is your 'part' in the Body of Christ? If you cannot answer that right now, then it is time to ask God to show you where you 'fit' and what your 'role' is. We 'belong' to the Body of Christ, and as such, we belong to each other. To neglect relationship with anyone in the Body of Christ is like neglecting a particular part of your physical body. Whenever...

Let's be frank here - we need to learn to walk together in unity. I think we all know how truly difficult it is to actually be and stay in unity. Deep, intimate relationships require a different commitment than mere acquaintances. Friendships help to sustain us and keep us on track. How we view each relationship tells us a little bit about what we may actually invest into and take away from those relationships. We may find some actually are an ordeal for us because they demand more than we want to really put into them, but does that make them unnecessary relationships? Some may seem like a big deal to us, but does that make them worthy of special attention while neglecting others? Other relationships seem like they are kind of ideal, almost making us want to be exclusionary within those relationships, but doesn't that isolate us from the other types of relationships which might actually help us chip away some of the rough edges in our character? I think we might just nee...