Live In Peace With Everyone
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." -- Hebrews 12:14
Relationships change. It is a fact of life. We can either choose to adjust and accept or we can avoid the reality. Adjustment is the most difficult choice. It is also the only right choice.
Today I saw two people from my previous church. The man and his daughter had set up a table and were selling Girl Scout cookies outside a large retail store. The man saw me, turned and walked away. He obviously wanted to avoid me. There was no where to go. I think if he could have crawled under the card table he would have.
I refused to go that route. I've never shared a cross word with this man. I once spoke with him every Sunday. He and his wife are wonderful Christians and we've laughed together many times. But I no longer go to that church. And in his mind, that obviously matters.
I refused to ignore someone I always liked. Fortunately, his little girl felt the same. Her face brightened as I exclaimed about how much she'd grown. I chatted a few moments, then went on inside the store.
Sadness filled me. I know some people view me differently. I am no longer a part of their church family. That's how they see it anyway. I am a stranger, an outcast from their world. I've felt that sting before. I just never expected it from him.
When did christianity become so filled with cliques? Somehow I don't think in heaven that we'll all be sorted out based on church or denomination. I don't think God cares. We're all His children. All part of the same family. So why does it matter to us?
I can't choose how others react to me or to the choices I have made. I pray and make decisions on what I believe God wants for me. If that means some people no longer want to have contact with me because I now attend a different church, so be it. But I choose to keep people in my life, even as I move in another direction. I won't sever contact with people and pretend they don't exist just because it might be easier.
I will make every effort to live in peace with others. How they react is their choice not mine.
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