April 27 - United We Stand?
April 27
United We Stand?
Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:7-11
7Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. 8For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete. 10Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.11Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
YOU’RE IN A hurry to catch your ride after school, so you stop Darla in the hall and hand her a slip of paper. "Would you do me a favor?" you ask her.
"Oh," she answers, almost clucking the word like a contented hen. "Of course!"
"Could you give this to Cindy Johnson?" you say, nodding to indicate the slip of paper. "She missed algebra class today, so I told her I'd write down the homework assignment for her."
"Oh," Darla answers. "I'm not talking to Cindy."
"Well," you say, still holding the slip toward Darla, "could you give it to Mike, her boyfriend? He can give it to Cindy."
Darla rolls her eyes. "Well," she says, "if I'm not talking to Cindy, I'm not talking to her boyfriend, either. Duh!"
"OK, OK," you say, still holding the slip and determined to think of something. "What about. . . could you, um, ask Joe Deters to give it to his brother Kyle, who works with Sylvia? Sylvia can give it to Cindy on her way home from work."
Darla's nose wrinkles as if she's just smelled a dead fish. "Joe Deters? Ugh! I can't be seen talking to Joe Deters! He's such a--such a--you know what I mean."
You nod, not totally sure whether you know what she means or not. But one thing you know for sure--you'll have to call Cindy with the homework assignment.
Darla may be extreme, but she's not too different from a lot of people who seem to divide the world into "the people I'm getting along with right now" and "the people I can't stand right now." Or they divide people into "my type" and "not my type." Or "friends" and "enemies." Or "cool" and "you gotta be kidding."
But that kind of behavior, believe it or not, often hurts the Darlas more than it hurts the Cindys or the Joes. You don't need to litter your life with broken friendships and burned-out relationships. You're not helping yourself if you hold on to old feuds and resentments.
Unity is so much better than disunity and division. Unity with others brings rewards; disunity only brings resentment. Living in harmony with others promotes peace; living in disharmony only brings about pain.
That's why God desires unity for His children. He knows unity brings much better results than division and disagreement.
REFLECT: Is there anything in your life causing division between you and a friend? If so, what steps can you take to bring about harmony and unity with that friend?
PRAY: Use Jesus' prayer for his disciples from John 17:21 to pray for yourself and your relationships with your friends and acquaintances. (For example, you may pray, "Father, my prayer for __________________________ is that we will be one.")