Fallen World, Broken Relationships

Guess what! We live in a fallen world, and since Adam and Eve we've had a continuum of broken relationships. The man will slave and toil over the land, while the women will have pain in childbearing and will desire to rule over her husband. Since the Fall, we've battled against each other over and over again leading only to more conflict, more arguments, more broken families, friendships, and relationships.

Why is this? Probably the funniest and sadest part of this realization is that many of our earthly relationships fall apart on some simple disagreement or misunderstanding. And instead of facing the person and speaking about our hurts or our fears or even the misunderstandings, instead of attempting to fix the issue with another, we run, we hide, we find solace in the listening ears of others, and the once tiny misunderstanding is suddenly made into this HUGE issue that way too many people and opinions get involved in. "... a gossip separates close friends." Proverbs 16:28 - isn't that the truth all too often?

It's even gotten to the point where we inevitably take "sides", one group of friends/supporters against the other, and it means war! We see it in the tabloids - "Team Jen" or "team Brad" - T-shirts are made, boundaries are drawn - all because something private, between two people, has suddenly been thrust into the knowledge of others. Now, don't get me wrong here, I'm all for accountability and having someone who will ask the tough questions and allowing people into the pains and frustrations of our lives. But we need to learn to choose our "inner circle" wisely. Because out of our mouth the heart speaks - and if we're speaking to many about our inner hurts, the more likely it is that everyone in your "world" will know the details of everything. Confidentiality is a dying breed... trustworthiness is thrown out the window.

But this shouldn't be happening in Christian circles. This is not what God intended human relationships to be. No, He intends for us to treat one another as brother's and sister's IN Christ. Meaning whatever issues, whatever hindrances, whatever anger and resentment we have for our fellow Christ follower, we need to rectify. Because God's kindgom is not a place of separation and "sides", it's an open place of safety and surrender that He desires all people to inhabit. In Galatians 3:28 we're told "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, man nor woman, for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus." And if we are ONE in Christ, why do we still find fault in one another? Why do we run from facing the adversity that we will surely sense with our brother's and sister's in Christ? Why do we beat around the bush and put on the fake smiles and waves, knowing inside we are harboring resentment or anger towards the very person we're waving at??

And why do American Christians often live "of the world" when it comes to misunderstandings between each other? Why do we pick sides? Why do we draw battle lines? And why, oh why, is it so hard for us to forgive each other our trespasses??

Seventy times seven.

"Bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also forgive." Colossians 3:13

Isn't it funny sometimes how we get so wrapped up in each other's drama and gossip that we ourselves take offense for someone else? As if the person who hurt our friend has somehow hurt us, we take up our weapons and chop the other down in conversation, in action. But, there's two sides to every story, yet we fail to see things from the other's point of view. So we attack, we berate, we destroy someone else's reputation and "require" or expect our friends to expel the other from everything as a punishment. We see this in the story of the woman at the well - where Jesus meets her, asks for water, and she hesitantly offers it to him. The background on this woman is that she's a prostitute, she's "dirty", she's an outcast in her own society. She has no friends, she has no companionship for everyone but the man she's living with out of wedlock has turned their back on her. She leads a lonely life... beaten, downtrodden, abused by those who should be loving her the most.

And the incredible thing that we see in this example of Jesus and this "dirty" woman at the well is that Christ approaches her not with a pointed finger proclaiming how awful she is. No, he's aware of the choices she's made as well as the way she's been treated by her community. Instead, Christ sees her for the beautiful daughter of the One and Only - and approaches her to give her hope and love and true life through Him.

What if we decided to do as Christ would in all of our relationships on earth? What if we chose to be the people that faced the outcast instead of walking away from them whispering? What if we chose to be the people that invited new people into our community? What if we chose to invite new people to our area/church/workplace/school in and learn from one another? What if we were the people that had the mentality that everyone on this planet is loved by God and thus we should also love them? And what if we truly saw everyone with the Golden Rule on our hearts and minds "do unto other's as you would have done unto you"?

I bet we'd break down the walls we've built against each other.

I bet we'd save lives.

I bet Christ would heal hearts and mend relationships.

And I bet we'd be challenged, stretched, and enlightened by those we've invited in.

So maybe what we should do instead judging about our racial differences, gender differences, age differences, or just plain differences in general - is to embrace and appreciate each other for the diversities Christ has made in each of us, and welcome one another in truth and love...

Fallen World.

Broken Relationships.

Restored through Christ.