.: one :.

I have been realizing more and more lately how central relationships are to the Kingdom of God. The Devil is doing everything within his (limited) power to undo our ties with one another. It may be a careless word that sets someone off. It can be a thoughtless action that brings up the previously covered past. He can choose to use another person to say what they have been dying to say to you, and suddenly we are off to the races again. This truth must be proclaimed once again: we need each other. But the Enemy knows far too well how it is in our nature to seek to advance our own agendas at the cost of the bond we once shared with those around us. He knows that we love the view from our pedestals and will so often do all we can to keep our advantage over others. But we must hold onto the reality that we share in a union brought about by the Father on our behalf. While we were His enemies, He sacrificed the very Son with whom He shared divine fellowship... so that we might know Him like that. And where love and grace abound, our Enemy is working to undo the works of his foe. We need each other. We desperately need to be lifting one another up before the Father, asking that He might draw closer to them, support them when they feel isolated, and to even use us to bring about a deeper wholeness in their lives if He so chooses. We cannot avoid the cost of burning a bridge for the sake of proving ourselves right. Relationships are fundamental to what the Spirit of God is doing in the world around us. And as He moves in and through us, the Devil is using even the slightest selfish inkling to drive a wedge between those we love and us. We may not get our way. We probably won't find the sort of vain glory we were hoping for. But we have the chance to move beyond ourselves by deflating our growing egos and moving towards that individual in the face of cries to retreat. Silence is one of the greatest tools our Adversary has towards tearing apart our once cherished friendships. He will catch us off guard and get us to make it about ourselves, rather than about caring for that soul across from us. But we must seek the kind of strength that will give us the right words, and will cover over our reasons for separation and isolating ourselves from our assumed inferiors. Every one of us bears a pivotal role in the Father's work, but we forsake it when we work to develop the foundation of our own empires. May we reclaim grounds stolen by careless words and wounded egos, and may we soon find fellowship again with those we once walked with before.