One Another #7

Up to this point, our exploration of the "one another" passages has been fairly general. Everyone knows we are supposed to love each other, pray for, and serve each other. No one purposefully tries to hurt a brother or sister in Christ. But our relationship to one another is something God wants us to grow in. That means we have to move beyond agreeing with the Bible to obeying it.

For different members of the class, obeying the directives of the one-another passages will mean different things. Summer will drastically alter the schedule of college students in our class. If you are a student, you should consider how the plan for your summer will affect your brothers and sisters in Christ. Maybe instead of planning all the experiences you want to have, books you want to read, or activities you want to do, you should plan for people you want to invest in - like your parents, siblings, or friends. And what about those people whose name you know, but you do not know much more? Maybe you can use some of your summer to find out why they are here and what they are like.

For some people in our class, summer will not make one bit of difference. But just because our schedule does not change does not mean that we are exempt from growing in relationships. It just means that we have to be more creative. What about taking a half hour some evening to think about what you can do to increase your connection to other church members. Get a notebook and think for fifteen minutes about who your friends are and how you could improve your relationship. Then, take fifteen minutes to think of people who are not your friends and what you can do about it. Write down at least one goal for each category.

In summary, the "one another" passages are not just something to add to the summer to-do list. They give us an orientation by which to evaluate our to-do list. If Christ-likeness is our chief summer goal, we should keep John 12:35 in mind, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."



Rachel Potter

One Another #6 - Negatives

Along with all the things we should be doing for one another, there are five verses about what we shouldn't do.

"Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another." Galatians 5:26

"Do not lie to one another." Colossians 3:9

"Do not complain, brethren, against one another." James 5:9

"Do not speak against one another." James 4:11

And my personal favorite: "But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another." Galatians 5:15

All joking aside, these verses show that along with having a huge potential to do good to one other, we also are quite capable of tearing each other to bits.

Do you feel like you have a valid complaint to make about another believer? Take a look at the context of James 5:9. James does not brush aside the reasons Christians have to complain. Instead, he points us to Christ in two ways. The first is that complaining opens us up to be censured by Christ for the same offence (the ol' mote in his eye, beam in yours idea). The second is that if we handle the offence patiently, we have Christ's compassion and mercy to look forward to. Take the example of Job. Though God did not explain Job's predicament to him, He also did not let Job's tormentors go unreprimanded.

Instead of telling all your friend about the person who offends you, try to imagine how you would like Christ to respond to you if you treated Him the way your offender treated you. Once you know what Christ would do, you have a pattern to follow in your dealings with that person.

Since there are so many positive things we can do for one another, let's get the negatives out of the way and focus on building rather than biting.

Rachel Potter

One Another #5

I have about forty-eight references that fit under how Christians love one another. Serving (1 Peter 4:10), praying (James 5:16 ), and being hospitable (1 Peter 4:9 ) are three. Burden sharing (Galatians 6:2) is another, as is forgiving (Colossians 3:13).

The one that has captured my attention is 1 John 4:12, "No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." In other words, like Jesus explained God to everyone while He was on earth, we explain God to other people when we love each other. When we are hospitable and when we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ we are treating them the way Jesus would have if He were still here.

How is your explanation of God going?

I have to admit that mine is selective - based on time constraints and personality preference. But this verse is not meant to beat us over the head when we do not imitate Jesus perfectly. Every time we love another Christian in practical ways like serving, forgiving, or burden sharing, we show our family resemblance to Christ. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can do that more and more often until we reach "a mature man, the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13)

When you see someone who is "loving one another" in the next week, give them some encouragement to keep going. And take a picture. I could use an illustration for this segment.

Rachel Potter

One Another #4

If you use a Bible search engine to locate all the "one another"s in the New Testament, you will come across four very uncomfortable references: Romans 16:16, I Corinthians 16:20, II Corinthians 13:12, and 1 Peter 5:14. All four of them speak specifically of greeting one another with a kiss. I'll let the Artios guys comment on the kissing part, but I think all Christians can (and should) follow the greeting part.

Did you know that obeying the Bible can be as easy as a handshake?

Greetings are a first step in obeying other Bible directives. Many one-another verses have "love" written all over them in invisible letters. I may not love everyone I greet, but I cannot love someone I never greet. I cannot build up (Romans 14:19), speak to (Ephesians 5:19), encourage (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:25 ), or admonish (Hebrews 10:24 , Colossians 3:16 , Romans 15:14 ) people if I never get close enough to shake their hands. All of those verbs expand on the active love that the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to show. Building up, speaking to, encouraging, and admonishing must all be done in love in order to have any effectiveness. 

Where is a good place to go beyond greeting and do some building-up/encouraging/admonishing? 

In our American (and especially Baptist) context, sharing food offers an ideal opportunity to obey these Biblical directives. The college and career class tries to offer eating times in order to facilitate one-another times. The real purpose of coffee Sundays is not to enjoy Mrs. Roach's great cooking but to find ways to stimulate each other to love and good works. So next time we have a fellowship, get your plate, greet someone, and get going!

Rachel Potter

One Another #3

Have you ever been extremely annoyed by someone with stricter standards? Some people perfectly fit H. L. Mencken’s definition of Puritanism: “The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” Those folks go hand-in-hand with people following the Islamic idea, “if everyone around me would quit tempting me, I could be right with God.” They don’t realize that nuns and monks already tried imposition and isolation, and it didn’t work.

God does not say in so many words, “thou shalt not be annoyed with one another,” but He does give us directives for how to think about more conservative brothers and sisters in Christ.

Romans 14:13, Galatians 5:13 – Determine to be a blessing. Face it. The way to help a guy realize that Jesus did not have comb-over is not to ruffle up his hair in public. Let God soften the conscience of your bound brother as he watches you love and serve selflessly.

I Peter 5:5, Romans 12:16 – Be humble. The trick with humility is that when you have it, no one notices.

Philippians 2:3, Ephesians 5:21 – Be willing to be governed by a person with stricter standards that God has put near you. Give them the honor God directs us to show one another and use the time with them to figure out why they hold their standards. (Keep in mind that they have probably encountered all your objections. Try to nail down why they still maintain their position.)

Of all people, we at Mt. Calvary should know that you probably won’t interact with certain people longer than a few years. Instead of using our time complaining or being annoyed, let’s “always seek after that which is good for one another” (I Thessalonians 5:15).

One Another #2

"Oh no! He's getting closer! I hope we don't have to talk!"

Have you ever had that thought before? I have. I know dreading other Christians is not right, but sometimes I don't know what else to think. Instead of an inward cringe, God wants my default to be one of these patterns:

Romans 15:7 - Christ accepted me when I was "not cool" and not even good.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 - God put this [rebel, musician, computer geek] in my life because He thinks I can help.
Ephesians 4:2 - How can I make this person comfortable?
1 Thessalonians 5:13 - What would make peace between us?

In other words, I should think, "I am stronger." 

My reputation can take the hit. God gave me the skill this person lacks. Christ can empower me to be gracious. This [cool, spiritual, nerdy] person and I are one in Christ, and by His power we can display our union.

Instead of ignoring or avoiding, I can ask, "How's it going?"
So, the next time you encounter someone who is not part of your normal group, you can be armed with the right mindset too. After all, we are members one of another.

Rachel Potter

One Another - #1

This blog has lain dormant due to lack of inspiration and the engulfing terror of other priorities. But recently, the Lord has given me time and vision for what to do next. So, I'm riding The Road again, and whoever would like to join me is quite welcome.

I have heard multiple challenges about the "one-another" passages in the Epistles. Examining them lately, I noticed four broad categories: the facts of our relationship to each other, how we should think about one another, what we should do in relationship to one another, and what we should not do. In the seven weeks between now and graduation, I would like to explore those four categories.

For instance, our Union.

I put four verses in this category: 1 Corinthians 12:25, Romans 12:5, Ephesians 4:25,  and Romans 15:5. Each reference gives us another facet of what being "members one of another" actually looks like. I Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 explain how God gifted all of us differently so that each person could supply what the other person lacks. As our picture illustrates, God gave Michael the gift of height and Janine the "gift of short" so that they could supply things for each other and for us that we would never be able to take care of without them. Ephesians 4:25 builds off our union to explain lying, not in terms of "thou shalt not," but - in the same way Pastor explained immorality - in terms of being unthinkable since we are members of one another.                                                                                                    
Romans 15:5 challenges us to be of the same mind toward one another. Paul's reference to God as the One "Who gives perseverance and encouragement" tips us off that being of the same mind is hard work. The context has more content than I can develop here; but among many other things, being of the same mind means putting practical thought into our interactions with other Christians - like Michael not sitting in front of Janine at church.

A lot of the challenges these verses mention are things we already do. Praise the Lord, we are not completely fruitless, backward members of the body! Try to keep the three ideas in mind this week, though, and see how the Lord is working out your gifts, honesty, and thoughtfulness as we grow in our relationship to one another.

Rachel Potter