Genesis 30:8 (KJV)
And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
Recently I performed a wedding. The lighting of the candles, one on either side of the unity candle, was performed by the two youngest brothers of the groom. I know them both to be kindhearted and generous young men. But they are brothers. One of the two could get his lighter struck quickly, and his candle lit. The other, struggling with his lighter, tried to get his brother’s, who sternly refused to give it up. He did attempt to light the candle for his brother, who wasn’t about to allow that to happen. My son, watching with his mother from the audience, smiled and remarked, “Sibling rivalry,” to his mom, my wife. He immediately recognized what was going on. I don’t imagine there is much that concerns a parent more than sibling rivalry. We want our kids to get along.
I believe the same to be true of our Lord. It must be a grief to Him that the children of His creation would fight and war among themselves.
But it does happen—a lot.
- Cain and Abel
- Rachel and Leah
Is it any wonder that Joseph’s brothers were so cruel to him as to sell him as a slave?
A unique bond belongs to Christians, especially in a local Church. We are brethren. But we, too, are prone to some “sibling rivalry.” This is a particular grief to the Lord. We are taught in many New Testament passages to endeavor to keep unity in the bond of peace.[1]
We are all different in personality, passions, and preferences. But the fact that Christ is the redeemer of all the brethren in the church demands that we let His mind be in us.
[1] Ephesians 4:3 (KJV)
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824
Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”
For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.
For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.
My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org
Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more
Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi provides a means for those who appreciate my content to leave me a “tip.” I would be thankful for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment