DOING LIFE TOGETHER

“Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” Philippians 4:20-23.

After all that Paul had written about, perhaps some of his most significant words come at the end of his letter in his “signing off” statement. Once again he gives us a glimpse of the true meaning of “Christian” – people who belong to Christ – family! Paul was a catalyst – keeping people in touch with one another and fostering the family spirit by connecting the people in the churches and by constant interaction with them.

Paul was in prison in Caesar’s palace awaiting trial and possible execution, but that did not deter him from keeping the family together and urging them to support one another. He was the one who initiated the collection of money to help believers in Judea who were suffering because of famine in their area. He urged the churches in Greece to show their love by helping them in their need.

He constantly sent fellow workers to check on the believers in other places when he was unable to go himself. He often concluded his letters with greetings from individuals and church groups even though they did not know each other personally. Paul was a family man. He understood how important it was for God’s family to stand together because it was them against the world.

How many churches today are run more like a business than a family! We live in our little isolated islands, meeting together on a Sunday and perhaps once during the week, but for the most part not really involved in the lives of the other members of the family of God. Of course, the church is now worldwide and too big and scattered for us to be connected across the board. But what about the local congregation of which we are members?

Not all churches are groups of impersonally disconnected individuals. Thank God for those who take their responsibility of doing life together seriously! Jesus said that the mark of true discipleship that will convince the world far more than doctrine or success is the love of the disciples for one another, and the unity that bonded them together.

“One another” is a recurring phrase that sets the church apart from the world. That does not mean that life in the body of Christ is idyllic – far from it. We still drag our old fleshly nature around with us and will do so until we shed this body and step into the presence of Jesus. In the meantime, we learn to overcome our natural selfishness and self-centredness by serving one another. We learn to love by loving. We learn to give by giving. Little by little, deed by deed, we subdue our old “man” by putting on the new man.

Doing life together can be messy at times. Conflicts will happen, but how we deal with them reveals how real our determination is to follow our Master. That’s why we forgive – four hundred and ninety times a day if necessary. Who is going to keep a record, anyway? Jesus’ prescription for harmony in the family is very simple – die! Dead people don’t quarrel. Dead people are not selfish. A truly “dead’ believer has no personal agenda because his life is inextricable intertwined with his Lord’s.

How we do life together in our church family is a good test of how dead we really are. We can either withdraw and distance ourselves from the mess, even if we are part of it or we can get in there, get dirty and help clean it up. Paul put it in a nutshell:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14.

Did you get that? Put on these attitudes as you would put on your clothing in the morning. Keep putting on the behaviour until you become what you do. Why must we do that? Because we may! We are no longer the slaves of our old sinful, selfish selves. We are free to love, and loving is the most liberating way to live. Loving our brothers and sisters in the Lord by meeting their needs at our expense moves us closer to the image of Jesus….

…and that’s what it’s all about!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.