One thing that the we learned over from reading the book of 1st John in Greek is that John leaves some things unclear and some things very clear. In verses twenty and twenty one of chapter four we see him doing the latter:
"If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him:
that he who loves God must love his brother also."
"If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him:
that he who loves God must love his brother also."
our submission for the photo directory
It has been very easy for my roommates and I, so far, to merely co-exist. We've taken up the same living space for a while now and we've learned how to share an apartment together. That's a good thing.
Still, one of us pointed out "We tend to be be autonomous. We are four separate guys living four separate lives." There's a lot of truth to that, and to a degree it's ok. However, the ultimate destination that the Gospel has us on is for deep and shared intimacy. Jesus prayed for it in John 17:21 ( that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.) That's the prayer Jesus prayed while staring death in the face!
What else is true is that relationships take time. We can't force it. We can't fake it. However, recently we decided to bank on God's promise that one it's going to happen - that Jesus' blood shed on the cross not only restores our relationship to God, but to one another. We made a commitment to do the difficult work of being invovled in each others lives: sharing our struggles, letting each other see our messes, working hard to listen well, ask helpful questions of another, pray for and with each other, and love one another. This is grueling difficult work. It asks each of us to die to our preferences.
We've taken baby steps. It's really exciting!
Still, one of us pointed out "We tend to be be autonomous. We are four separate guys living four separate lives." There's a lot of truth to that, and to a degree it's ok. However, the ultimate destination that the Gospel has us on is for deep and shared intimacy. Jesus prayed for it in John 17:21 ( that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.) That's the prayer Jesus prayed while staring death in the face!
What else is true is that relationships take time. We can't force it. We can't fake it. However, recently we decided to bank on God's promise that one it's going to happen - that Jesus' blood shed on the cross not only restores our relationship to God, but to one another. We made a commitment to do the difficult work of being invovled in each others lives: sharing our struggles, letting each other see our messes, working hard to listen well, ask helpful questions of another, pray for and with each other, and love one another. This is grueling difficult work. It asks each of us to die to our preferences.
We've taken baby steps. It's really exciting!