“May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.” - Romans 15: 5-7
For many of us, family is where we first learn the value and necessity of living in harmony. Yet, it is so often hard to do. Family life and church life alike can come with conflict and discomfort. It is only when we choose to have patience with one another’s faults and encourage one another, that we foster harmony. Living in harmony only happens intentionally.
I remember sharing a room with my sister until we were 16 and 17. We love each other now, and we loved each other sharing that small room, but oh how different we were. I hoarded paper, cardboard and trinkets for crafts which I stuffed into bags and hung on my desk chair, bed post, door knob, wherever I could. My sister on the other hand, organized her shelves and dresser with a tidy display of her favourite things. Needless to say, it wasn’t easy for her to live with the messy hoarder that I once was. That is just to illustrate one of our many differences. Fights ensued, and for a lot of our pre-teen and teenage years, we said more awful than kind things to each other.
It took us until adulthood to learn to celebrate each other’s lives. The annoying stuff hasn’t gone away (like my tendency to take forever to respond to her text messages and e-mails). We are still so different but now, we speak positively towards each other. Now, we have room to know each other and an opportunity to encourage one another through life. Life is better with my sister.
So why does harmony matter?
As a church family, we follow Jesus, and reflect Him in what we do. We don’t choose the family we are born into any more than we choose who may walk into church with us. When operate in harmony with whoever it may be, we reflect Jesus well. What better way to love people than to share the same graceful love that Jesus gave to us.
Alison Bolanos
Alison works on staff at Relate Church and is a vital part of the church community along side her husband Rember.
