Today was Wednesday. For us here at Camp Qwanoes that means that it is staff meeting day. We all make our way to a bunch of couches arranged in a circle, and we sing a couple worship songs, do a devotion, pray, talk about camp stuff that is important for that week, pray some more. Meetings are quite often punctuated with laughter, joking, Canuck/Flames jokes, slightly inappropriate comments made funnier because the person saying them doesn't know that they are inappropriate, and much much more.
I have never not enjoyed these meetings (okay, you caught me... sometimes in the summer after a long night of calls, I sometimes didn't want to go to them) but today's really hit me. It was moving and powerful in it's simplicity. A lot of our staff is currently on vacation so there were a lot less of us there. We started with a few worship songs, and then were lead in a devotion by one of the staff members who really focused on unity and how important it was. He talked about how we don't love each other in our hearts alone. We talk to each other, spend time together, text, message of facebook, etc. And we have to do the same with God (okay, not facebook, clearly he doesn't have that). But we can't keep our relationship with him within our hearts. I never thought about it this way before. He went on to talk about how unity with God, and Jesus is the starting point for unity with each other and it evolved into talking about how we are one body, in one church with one God. I really liked that, it reminded me that no matter how much we disagree as Christians no matter how many denominations, no matter how much discord, we are one body. The body of Christ.
Then he said something that really stuck with me about the discord that exists among the body of Christ, and it was this: "When we fight with one another, neither of us win and even more importantly God doesn't win either. When we fight amongst ourselves and we allow bitterness and anger to creep in, we might as well take the gift that God has given us and put it right into the devils hands." This really hit me today, and I am not entirely sure why it hit me as hard as it did. But it is something I have been thinking about all day since and decided to write up a blog for.
I guess it all comes down to how we need to have grace and forgiveness for each other. That is the gift that God gave us in such great measure that we are able to pass it on to others.
I really have nothing else to say beyond the fact that I know there are areas in my life that I need to extend grace and forgiveness to people and there are areas in my life that I need that extended. I plan to be very intentional about that and seek to find peace in that regard. What areas in your life need to be looked at? What things were creeping into the back of your mind while you read this? Where is the guilt that you feel? Because THAT is where you need to focus right now. So stand alongside me and more importantly, Jesus, and extend grace, forgiveness and love and see how much your life is enriched.
Love, love love!
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