Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly, reaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
There are
over fifty “one anothers” in the New Testament. And all of them are written to
us, believers, the church body. They are not written solely to the pastors or
the elders or the deacons. They are not written to the super spiritual or the
“saints” who have it all together. They are written to us, at whatever stage of
the Christian walk we are currently found.
In chapter
three of Colossians alone, we are told to “bear with one another,” “forgive one
another,” and “admonish one another.” For you grammar geeks out there, “one
another” is a reciprocal pronoun, which means it’s supposed to be mutual,
reciprocal, i.e., everyone gets to do it. No one gets out of these commands.
And they are all commands dealing with how we love and relate to other people.
Yes, the pastors and elders and deacons of Candeo Church will bear with us, and
forgive us, and admonish us. But, we too must join in the “one anothers” and do
the same with each other and those that God puts in our paths.
Looking just
at the “one anothers” in chapter three of Colossians, we must bear with one
another. Do you do this? Do I do this? Do I bear with the mistakes of my spouse
or my roommate? Do I bear with the annoying habits of my brother or my friend?
We must forgive one another. Do I forgive quickly and completely when someone
sins against me? When my spouse hurts me with words or actions? When my friend
fails to keep his word? We must admonish one another. Do I challenge my spouse
and push them to become more like Christ? Do I call out sin in my friend’s life
rather than ignoring it?
If we leave
the “one anothers” to the “pros,” many of God’s dearly loved people will fall
through the cracks. They will not feel God’s love through His church as He
intended it to be. They will not know what it means to be part of the body of
Christ.
We can’t
leave the “one anothers” to the pros, because we are the “one anothers.”
Lord, forgive me for
failing to obey your clear commands and failing to truly love others. Forgive
me for expecting others to step up and do the work that you want me to do. Help
me this week to bear with those people around me that I struggle to love as you
love. Help me to forgive readily and completely. And help me to be bold enough
to challenge and correct my brothers and sisters in Christ. Forgive me for
thinking that is the pastor’s job alone and not mine. Let me be your arms and
your feet to a lost and hurting world. Let me be your voice of encouragement to
a brother or sister who is discouraged. And let it all be in your name, for
your glory! Amen.
