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Written by Corina Diaz, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A couple of weeks ago I was deeply sad and found myself in darkness and grief. During one of those long nights, I glanced at a couple of letters that my younger brother had written me and that I often reread when I feel discouraged. I came across the following verse: 1 John 2:10. “Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.”
Although I had read this letter and this verse many times, some questions arose: What does it really mean to walk in the light? Do I allow the light to be focused on me?
Light is a form of energy that usually emanates from and through a focal point. It is penetrating and fills the space it is in. When there is light, I can see the space around me. I can observe the obstacles of the road and in turn I let others see me on the road too.
So, I thought of this question: What comes first, those who love or those who remain in the light? Do you try to love first or go towards the light? Perhaps we have tried to love first before drawing near to the light. Perhaps I have to go to the light first to show myself to others and let myself be loved in order to love others. When I love others, I must be willing to show myself as I am. But how can I love others if I must be loved first to love well? Faced with my dilemma, I turned over just a few pages in my Bible to 1 John 4:19 where I found the answer: God loved us first!
Love gives us clarity to our own life and leads us to show the light to those who remain on the road. It draws us closer in order to encourage one another, and our burdens become lighter. The light also reveals when we stumble. When someone comes by my side and their lamp illuminates my path I become vulnerable. I have to let others see me as I am. The risk of walking in the light is that I show my imperfections, my failed attempts, my tears and my difficulties.
Love is letting my fellow sojourners bring their lamps closer to me and see how the path treats me so that they can help me to move further along.
I can see the light of Christ in those around me who take on the task of sharpening me, supporting me and encouraging me even when I'm not ready to continue. Praise God for all the thorns on the road and for the lights that come to us through His infinite love.
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Written by Jocelynn Goff, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Searcy, AR
Are there any difficult people in your life? Surely not ;-). Ahem! We must admit there are relationships that can be quite sticky. I believe we all do have people in our lives for a short or long term that can prove difficult. Maybe a boss, coworker, neighbor, sibling, parent, child, brother or sister at church. So, how do we navigate these difficult relationships? How do we reflect His nature? How can we be salt and light to the world around us? Bottom line, how do we get along with each other?
Of course, we want to look to Jesus for our example and how He interacted with those around Him. As we search the scriptures, we see in Genesis 1:27 “God created man in His own image...” This calls us to respect each other as equal in God’s eyes as His creation. This doesn’t mean that we need to be BFF with everyone but a certain amount of respect is in order.
In John 13:35 Jesus speaks of a new command to love one another and says, “by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” This feels like a pretty tall order. Yet, we all know the Golden Rule, “so in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you...” Matthew 7:12. We inherently know how we’d like to be treated so this guides us as we think how to treat others.
Paul gives us guiding principles in Romans 12:9-21. One verse in particular, “if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” This says to me that there may be times that it may not be possible. Therefore, I need to remember Matthew 10:16b that as Jesus sent out the 12, He urged them to be as “wise [shrewd] as serpents, and harmless [innocent] as doves.” I have found some practical tips to help me navigate relationships with those that may fit into this category.
1. Listen and look for common ground, areas of agreement, and stick to these in conversation whether at work or personal interactions.
2. Love them where they’re at, without taking on the task of fixing them.
3. Plant a seed of truth in the conversation.
4. Be “politely assertive” in getting a task completed whether this is a repairman, coworker, child, or anyone where you have to help them to do their job without doing it for them.
5. Set a time limit for the interaction determined by the necessity of the situation. This could be as short as five minutes, for example.
6. Include another person in the conversation to buffer, neutralize the intensity of the conflict, or be a witness if things get sticky.
7. Remember that this person and this relationship do not define you.
8. Do a self-assessment and realize that you could actually be the difficult one in the relationship. If this is true, then humbly repent, apologize, and commit to a new mode of operation. Set the example of owning your own responsibility where appropriate.
9. Cover all of your relationships with prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to accompany you and prompt you if you need to hold your tongue or exit the situation.
May God bless us all as we seek to be wise, innocent, loving, respectful, kind, and truthful in our relationships.