One Another Part I of III

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 19 Issue 16 May 17, 2009

There are 36 “One Anothers” in the New TestamentI believe they are the “How To” of Church Life. They reveal what a healthy Church looks like.
We are to: Be Devoted to One Another: Accept One AnotherBear With One Another; Forgive One Another; Honor One Another; Live in Harmony with One Another; Serve One Another; Submit to One Another; Not Judge One Another; Encourage One Another and most importantly LOVE ONE ANOTHER
In Ephesians 4:1-6 Paul talks about the importance of unity. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
I am planning, Lord Willing to speak on relationships over the next three weeks. Today we will look at “bearing with one another”, next week when we do communion, ”Comfort one another”, and then in two weeks we will look at the greatest message of Jesus (His ultimate commandment to us) “Loving one another.”
So, why this series about the “One Anothers”?
Because unity is the greatest gift that we can offer to God.
It's the gift that Jesus prayed for. He said, I pray that you would make them one, as I and you are one. To all be on the same page marching towards one vision.
Will you agree with me that people are different?
We have different needs, wants and desires.
We have different perceptions about the way things happen.
We can see the same event and can put a completely different spin on it.
We can have wrong perceptions about ourselves, (+ or -) and we can misperceive our understanding of God.
There are two factors that will determine how well you will grow spiritually and it will determine the quality of your relationships.
Here's the first one. Jesus says, "your eye is the lamp of your body and when your eyes are good, your whole body is also full of light. When your eyes are bad, your body is full of darkness."
It's not just what we see, it's how we see, that makes all the difference.
“Eliab syndrome”
“Rose colored glasses”
You and I have a choice everyday. Whether we are going to perceive openly and generously or narrowly and closed, grudgingly or generously.
Some people test our patience, others test our perception. We have all met those special EGR folk.
EGR - “Extra Grace Required"
We choose how we see one another, and how we will bear with one another.

That's the first thing that these scriptures teach us. How we see is as important as what we see.
The second factor of growth in our relationship with God and relationship with one another is that we need to look with an honest heart.
Jesus then says, "see to it then that the light within you is not darkened."
We all try to go around this. I mean really does anybody here think that they are full of darkness?
No. We all think we have a certain measure of light.
Jesus is saying, you better check it out. In fact, the words see to it is where we get the word "scope."
Scope not, the mouthwash, is the ability to see.
Jesus says, scope out your heart.
Look with an honest heart, that is the second factor. Brutal self-evaluation.
Not to the point of being morbid, but to the point of being honest.
When you get on your scale, don't you calibrate it to zero? That's what he is saying. Calibrate to zero. Don't make it five pounds lighter. Assess yourself honestly.
Check out, what's in your heart.

You see the sign of a person who is spiritually honest and spiritual in general is that they know that there are still pockets of resistance, pockets of darkness in their hearts.
It's why the Psalmist prayed this. "Who can discern his errors? Who really can discern ones own errors. Forgive. Forgive O Lord my hidden faults."
On the other hand, the Pharisee's were self-righteous. They thought they were full of light. They didn't send out much light at all. But they thought they were full of light.
And yet, Jesus said they were not. He said you don't see well, you don't see the light of the world, and so your body is full of darkness.
Scope yourself out because truth in your heart will lead to peace in your relationships with others.
Ephesians 4 "in all humility and gentleness and loneliness forbear with one another in love."
What does that mean? Literally, it means put up with.
Isn't that a great statement?
All you brothers and sisters and Christians out there, you just go on and put up with each other.
That is basically what Jesus is saying.
Sometimes we have to put up with each other…. in all love, of course.
Jesus looked at the unbelieving generation that surrounded him and he said, O perverse and unbelieving generation, how long will I be with you and what did he say then, and put up with you. Luke 9:41
That should encourage you.
Jesus himself in his humanity was tested to the limits of his endurance with us and he put up with us.
He loved us. He endured our pain and our shame and our guilt. And so, God tells us brothers and sisters in all that same humility forbear with each other.
Sometimes it means you put up with each other, but that requires being suspect of our own perceptions. That allows us to be more forbearing, enabling us to become a more forbearing person.
The Lord knows that we all jump to conclusions. We all misperceive things.

Probably the most difficult situation of all is when we misperceive God’s love and we think of Him as a begrudging God, a hard task master, and yet the Lord is most generous. He gave everything to us.

We should be quick to pray for good eyes, that is “generous vision” before bearing with one another in love so we will produce the unity of the Spirit. Because friends that is the only way that the world will know that God sent his son to dwell in our midst.

Amen.