The Glue of Unity

 

You probably haven’t thought about rebar recently. Maybe you’ve never thought about it in your entire life. You’ve certainly seen rebar if you have ever taken a ride in an automobile. But no one ever said, “Hey, look at that rebar over there. Is that cool or what?” Rebar is one of those unsung hero products that makes a huge difference in every type of large construction project. Rebar is what gives concrete the strength to resist cracking and crumbling for decades. 

Human relationships are even more fragile than concrete without rebar. Everything is fine as long as everyone is getting what they want. But that delicate harmony is usually shattered by the least little problem or disagreement. Someone once wrote a song with the refrain, “Why can’t we be friends, why can’t we be friends?” That song echoes a frustration people have experienced for centuries. It’s hard to get along. It’s easy to fight. We’ve been on a never-ending search for the formula for unity. 

The short, six chapter book of Ephesians in the New Testament of the Bible is a book about God’s plan for unity. That plan begins with our relationship with God and how God himself is the one who establishes unity between us and him. It then goes on to explain how unity with God affects our relationships with other people. 

If you need some rebar to reinforce the unity in your relationships with other people, join us for our Sunday morning worship service. Unity can be a reality and not just something we longingly sing about. 

Sunday Worship Time: 10:00 am

Blame God!

 

Have you ever noticed when you are watching several people who are not getting along well how easy it is to understand why they aren’t getting along? Just listening and watching for a few moments often is enough to identify reasons for each person having some responsibility for the conflict. However, when we are personally involved in a fight, then it becomes very difficult to accurately place the blame. Since we couldn’t possibly be at fault, that must mean everyone else is the culprit! As a race, we humans certainly demonstrate that tendency. 

No one argues that there are plenty of problems to go around in our world, but when it comes to answering, “Who is responsible?” the default response is often “God!” People say it all the time, “If God were really loving and good, he wouldn’t allow such terrible things to happen.” The problem with blaming God for all the bad things we witness each day is that not only does it keep us from identifying the real source of all our pain and suffering, but it also prevents us from finding the solution. 

Accepting blame for a broken relationship is never easy, but it has to happen if that relationship will heal. This truth is even more important in our relationship with God. If we are going to get along with other people, we’ve first got to get along with God. As long as we keep blaming God for all our problems, we’ll live in a near constant state of conflict not only with other people, but also with ourselves. 

If you are getting the impression that God probably isn’t the cause of your difficulties, join us for our Sunday morning worship service. We’re going to be studying Ephesians 2:1-10. There’s no clearer or more encouraging section of the Bible when it comes to not only placing the blame for problems, but more than that, finding solutions. 

Sunday Worship Time: 10:00 am