Have you ever heard the expression, "Blood is thicker than water?" For some reason this idea of blood has stuck with me the last couple of weeks. In my goal this year to better understand the deep love of Christ, I think it is necessary to look past simply who He is (although that is vitally important and I will be doing that as well) and seek to understand the symbols He put in place to indicate His great love for us. One of them is the bond of blood. Keep in mind when I talk about blood, I am talking about a unifying factor.
Before I left for Christmas break, I was sitting with my cousin, Jonathan, at a Christmas party. We were having a friendly disagreement about something, but I could tell we were both getting a little frustrated. I looked at him and said, "At the end of the day, we are still blood and you are stuck with me." No matter what the disagreement, at the end of the day, we were still family.
The Lynch side of my family also demonstrates this idea of blood. Over the years, I have watched some crazy and rough things happen that could and did tear at the fabric of our family. However, at the end of the day, usually no matter how bad the situation or act was, they still would accept and love one another. They were still blood and that overrode all the other stuff, even if harmony wasn't completely restored.
So this got me thinking. Because my closest friends are Christians, they are the ones that can hurt, frustrate, or make me laugh the most. But they are blood! Do you realize that? When Jesus died on the cross for us and said that anyone who calls on His name will be saved, and in coming to Him we are washed in His blood, purified, and cleansed from our sin...then all those who call on His name are washed and bonded by His blood. That blows my mind!
God created the church to be like-minded, one body, unified in spirit, to fellowship, learn, grow, comfort, support, and encourage one another. In other words, because you are the family of God...YOU ARE STUCK WITH ONE ANOTHER. And not even stuck...you get the privilege of knowing that these people, no matter where you go in life, are guaranteed to reenter it again, whether here or in eternity. How clever of the evil one to attack relationships and fellowship within the church. At the end of the day, no matter how much anger, disappointment, pain, frustration, or bitterness has been experienced YOU ARE GOING TO SPEND ETERNITY TOGETHER! There is no disowning, no escaping. As I told my cousin, you are stuck with one another because you are bonded by the blood of the Lamb. So it is time to start acting like family.
So what does this have to do with love? We are called as the body of Christ to love one another. We are also the bride of Christ and there is no greater love than Christ laying down His life for us. He desires the love within the Body to represent the love He has for us. Our relationships are meant to be just a tiny glimpse of the fellowship and love we will experience in eternity.
If you don't know the Lord, I pray desperately that you will know His deep love for you. If you are alone...please recognize and allow the Body to love on you. They are your family...you are bonded by blood. Now is a great time to get a jump start on eternity and learning to love one another..
"This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12
Growing in His love,
Kar
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