I've talked so much in the past about the siblinghood of believers in the church, and been shot down by so many who say it doesn't fit the conventions they were taught growing up in suburbia and rural America, that a part of me has kind of died in that area--given it up to Satan to maintain the blinders that keep the adelphoi from seeing themselves as adelphoi.
"If it is of the Lord," said an older woman friend whom I really admire for her steadfast trust in God even when she sees evil winning the day, "it will come to pass. He never fails. His arm is not short and his vision is not dim."
So, I set down the battle. I gave up the fight. I lost a friendship over it too... one that means as much to me as my own blood siblings. The way was just about too hard for him. The voices too loud. There was not enough support and encouragement toward what was right but radically so. The cost to follow is great, and sometimes it is just too great.
But some of the adults a little younger than me are not laying down the issue, and for that I am thankful. Carry on, dear ones. Carry on. I will support you in prayer, and my heart is with you. But this life may have won in the middle of the fourth round. I'm off my feet.
God bless the visionaries. God bless those whose scales fall off their eyes. God bless the church.
Thanks to one of those beloved for sharing this today. It gives me hope for the generation my children are growing up in. If only we would BE the church to one another, we could offer such depth of encouragement and steadfastness--we really could image God to the world in all areas. But when we choose to segment, divide, isolate, refuse fully HALF the interaction and the sharing of grace in the fullness of the Body that is available to us, yes, we cripple ourselves. Every time the ring of new, man-made restrictions tightens a notch, we lose something from one that was intended for more, and we can never know just how costly that was.
Why Men & Women in the Church Can't be "Just Friends"
Read. Consider. Is there something more to this idea of safe relationships in the Body than you've been willing to open yourself up to before? If the same Spirit is in you that is in me, is there possibly something greater that has been quenched for too long? "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another in brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Become who you already are.
"If it is of the Lord," said an older woman friend whom I really admire for her steadfast trust in God even when she sees evil winning the day, "it will come to pass. He never fails. His arm is not short and his vision is not dim."
So, I set down the battle. I gave up the fight. I lost a friendship over it too... one that means as much to me as my own blood siblings. The way was just about too hard for him. The voices too loud. There was not enough support and encouragement toward what was right but radically so. The cost to follow is great, and sometimes it is just too great.
But some of the adults a little younger than me are not laying down the issue, and for that I am thankful. Carry on, dear ones. Carry on. I will support you in prayer, and my heart is with you. But this life may have won in the middle of the fourth round. I'm off my feet.
God bless the visionaries. God bless those whose scales fall off their eyes. God bless the church.
Thanks to one of those beloved for sharing this today. It gives me hope for the generation my children are growing up in. If only we would BE the church to one another, we could offer such depth of encouragement and steadfastness--we really could image God to the world in all areas. But when we choose to segment, divide, isolate, refuse fully HALF the interaction and the sharing of grace in the fullness of the Body that is available to us, yes, we cripple ourselves. Every time the ring of new, man-made restrictions tightens a notch, we lose something from one that was intended for more, and we can never know just how costly that was.
Why Men & Women in the Church Can't be "Just Friends"
Read. Consider. Is there something more to this idea of safe relationships in the Body than you've been willing to open yourself up to before? If the same Spirit is in you that is in me, is there possibly something greater that has been quenched for too long? "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another in brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Become who you already are.
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