You have Sharp Edges? Me Too.

Recently a quote came to my attention that reads "broken people have sharp edges." Its true. Hurt people are typically the ones who hurt people. In this case its no different. Especially when you are walking a narrow path with others who are broken, you are bound to get cut up. Thats how the church works sometimes.

Sigh. Its pretty obvious to most who know me that I am the type to want everyone to be friends with everyone. As a friendly person, I love inviting many different people to a multitude of events and gatherings and sometimes I dont see why some people cant just suck it up and get along. Since I am friends with a variety of people, I  would love that variety to be able to tolerate each other. Especially those who claim to belong to the body of Christ. I think its resonable to treat my brothers and sisters with love and respect, and expect it in return. The thing is, we all fail at this, I fail at this. Sometimes terribly. And here I am, ill over this situation, wondering what could have been done differently, partially knowing not really much, trying to grasp the fact that sinful behaviour is generally irrational, and mostly knowing that forgiveness and discernment are a part of this solution, but so is confrontation and expressing some hard truths in love.

Im sure we've all been at a point where we just dont want to care about someone anymore, we just want to throw our hands up and walk away from. The pain is just an ugly scab now,  "Ive tried my best to be loving," "I dont know what to do anymore," "Its just not worth it to make the effort." Those are all things that have run across my mind lately.

The thing is though, I cant give up. As long as I am a child of God, I cant walk away from people that that are broken and messed up. Because I know that I am as well.


(come back tomorrow for a riveting part 2 about forgiveness.) 

Philemon

Now, let me just tell you, Philemon is a small book (doesnt even have chapters, just 25 verses), but it packs a big punch. Take five seconds and read the whole thing HERE. It has also enouraged me alot this summer in various areas. One of the main themes running through the letter of Philemon is forgiveness wrapped in the fact that becoming a christian should transform our personal relationships. In a nut shell- Paul is writing a recomendation letter for a slave named Onesimus to a guy named Philemon in order to get Philemon to forgive Onesimus and accept him back into the household. Got that? Ok. See, Onesy here was a slave but he had run away and not kept a deal he had with Philemon, but on the road to escape, he met Paul and became a christian, and knew he had to go back and make things right. In order to pave the way for Onsey, Paul wrote this letter.

My favorite verses in this book touch on the very theme-
"If then you count me as a parnter, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, PUT THAT ON MY ACCOUNT." (vs 17-18) (Paul talking to Philemon)

This has G_O_S_P_E_L written all over it. Paul is urging Philemon to accept Onsey back into the house, to forgive him, and recieve him as if it was Paul himself. Imagine that. On top of that he tells Philemon to charge Paul with any debt that Onsey has incurred. It probably takes alot for Philemon to trust Onsey again, after running away, betraying his trust, breaking a deal.

Hi, Think about it. Philemon is God. Paul represents Jesus. We are Onsey. Jesus is begging God to take us back into his household for we have sinned against him. Jesus takes all our debt on himself, and pleads with the Father for forgiveness on our behalf, for God to receive us like he would receive his very own son.

Are you still with me? Let me know if this makes sense. Its powerful.
Ohh man, I love this book.

So back to personal relationships. As much as this verse is vertical in our relationship with God it is also horizontal in our relationship to others. Say someone wrongs you, guess what? We need to forgive them and welcome them back as if they were Jesus himself. Ouch, thats hard. But its what we need to do.


What do ya'll think?

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From the CSF Leadership blog