We all have
messy lives because we are all human. Just
like messy rooms are difficult to function in, so messy lives are difficult to
function in... on our own.
Since most of
my Christian life I’ve been seeing with only my natural eyes (2Cor. 4:18), my life has remained quite messy. With troubles on all sides, there was always
a crisis to pull me away from the Lord, the true source of all peace and joy
(Eph. 2:14; Jh. 15:11). Once I shut
the Lord out, it was easy for the devil to make my life far worse because now I
was trying to do it all on my own. Once
I learned to trust the Lord in all matters- good or bad, my journey became
easier to walk for I am no longer trying to do it on my own.
And everywhere
we go there are other people living messy lives, even in our own homes. Throw us together and what do you get? Even bigger messes that need to be worked on. Ugh, more work! Perhaps we should all become recluses; just
avoid involvement with other people and their messes altogether. Or perhaps we should just retain surface
friendliness with everyone. All is good
as long as you keep your mess to yourself and I keep mine to myself. After all, we’re all too busy to deal with
each other’s mess.
But God never intended for us to be
alone. He was to be with us (Gen. 3:8) and
then He gave us the companionship of other humans (Gen. 2:18). The two ‘greatest’ commandments are about relationship
with God and man (Mr. 12:30,31).
Scripture is full of teaching on how we should live and deal with one
another. These are some examples of
messy lives involved with other messy lives:
Now we exhort you, brothers, warn
those who are unruly, comfort the
faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient toward all. 1Th. 5:14
But love your
enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in
return. And your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of
the Highest. For He is kind to the unthankful and to
the evil. Therefore be merciful, even as your
Father is merciful. Judge not, and you shall
not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not
be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be
forgiven. Lk. 6:35-37
Involvement. Jesus prayed that we
all would be one as He and the Father are one (Jh. 17:21) so obviously He wanted us to be involved in each
other’s lives, even if they are messy.
Some of the best things in life are ‘born’ out of mess: the perfect birthday cake, the
rebuilt engine, the ideal house, and the newborn baby.
Encourage,
bear, love, confess, give, warn, forgive, help, nourish, cherish, be: tenderhearted, patient, merciful,
sympathetic, compassionate, kind, humble, meek, treat with honour, in their
best interests, put away bitterness, wrath, anger, slander, malice, lies,
deception, arrogance, envy, rudeness, irritability, resentment, selfishness,
childishness… and I’m sure I could
find many more in Scripture.
The point is,
these are all actionable relationship words so God obviously wants us involved
in each other’s lives even in the mess.
And together, arm in arm (with Christ as head) we shall rise amidst this
present mess in strength of unity as the bride of Christ- without spot or
wrinkle, holy, without blemish (Eph. 5:27) and victory will be ours forever… in Christ Jesus!
Lord,
bless our messes and help us be the brothers and
sisters we need to be to each other.