Aaron Anderson | The Voice of Zion June 2022 --
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. – 2 Corinthians 13:11
The crowning jewel of God’s creation is humankind. God’s creation work was perfect. Humans lived in union with God. The angel of darkness, Satan, was jealous of God because he thought he should be equal to God, and was thrown out of heaven for his disobedience to Him. The angel of darkness disguised himself as an angel of light, and he caused the first human couple to question God’s Word. Sin entered the human heart. This was the great and complete falling away of humankind from God. Adam and Eve no longer lived in union with their Creator because of this fall. This inherited sin plagues us all today.
A Way Forward
Fortunately, God did not leave His children without a way forward. He gave to them His promise that a Savior would be born to save them from eternal death. This Savior would be His only Son. The Son had promised His Father already in eternity to be lowered to earth to save humankind. All humans had to do was believe on Him.
Satan Authors Disunity
The angel of darkness, Satan, wars against God. He wants God’s crown jewel of creation for his own. He knows that if he can cause doubt and sin to weigh heavy on one, a child of God will easily tire. Soon, we no longer see this flock of believers as a golden candlestick; brothers and sisters in faith can now appear to us only as faulty and sinful people. In this way, Satan was able to break the love between siblings of the first family as well. He caused the heart of Cain to grow so jealous and cold that he murdered his own brother.
We are living the eve of time. The author of confusion and lies knows his time is short. He is working tirelessly to break the unity of God’s children. When there is not unity the sheep are easily scattered. When the sheep are scattered and alone, the enemy can more easily pick them off – one by one, in small groups, or through a larger falling away.
Gather More Together
For this reason the writer to the Hebrews exhorts us in this way: “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb. 10:24,25). We can note how the author specifically mentions this provoking unto love and to good works, or as the NIV translation puts it, “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” It is good to remember this exhortation especially during these tumultuous times.
Broken Love Disrupts Unity
Let us consider how we converse one with another so that our speech would spur one another on toward love and good deeds, that one could walk away from a conversation with another child of God feeling uplifted in our walk of faith. Apostle Paul exhorted the Ephesian believers: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (4:29). And when our speech or actions offend another, let us quickly swallow our pride and turn towards the throne of grace to put away those sins which cause offense. “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). Otherwise, even seemingly small matters can begin to separate us.
Forgiveness Restores Unity with God
Let us always pray to our heavenly Father that He would give us a forgiving heart towards our brothers and sisters. When God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is present in the gatherings of His children, we feel the warmth of love that knits us closely together. “By this shall all know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).
Paul bid farewell to the battling congregation of Corinth by exhorting them to “encourage one another” and to “strive for full restoration” (2 Cor. 13:11 NIV).
Dear travel friends, let us continue on this journey encouraging one another. Let us forgive one another from the heart and believe that message of forgiveness. Then full restoration can come between brothers and sisters and it is possible to live in peace and to be of one mind. It is then that the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Cor. 13:11).