THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 25, JULY 21, 2002

WHAT’S GOING ON?  

            Over the course of the last 4 weeks I have been graphically reminded that the Lord’s church is composed of imperfect people, like myself, and that we have not yet reached the goal of reflecting the character of Christ to the world.  I have been to 4 different congregations and have had visitors to my home from a fifth.  Let me explain to you what I mean.  

            In one congregation where I was asked to speak one evening, I had anticipated seeing a friend of mine who preaches at another congregation in that particular city.  He was not there.  I found out he wasn’t there because he feels that the preacher and at least one elder there are unfairly attacking a preacher who now meets with the congregation my friend preaches at because every time he has a chance to preach somewhere, those brethren do something to stop it.  Did you follow that?  

            I went to another congregation to preach one lesson, by request, and because of strong disagreements about a particular subject, many of the folks there would have little or nothing to do with me, and I must admit, I wasn’t real tickled to be there either.   It was the first time in my life as a preacher that I have been verbally heckled during the time I was being introduced.  It was a different experience.  

            So I went to another congregation and as I walked in the door, practically the first thing that was said to me by one of the preachers that was doing the speaking was that the congregation where I was about to hold a meeting had cancelled a meeting that he was supposed to have there.  I was informed that this other congregation would not announce the meeting of the congregation where I was visiting.  Did you follow that?  

            The visitors that we had at home are dear and wonderful friends that I love with all of my heart.  They are favorites of mine, if it is O.K. to have favorites.  However, they brought up some of the darkest memories of my life that have everything to do with the ungodly way that brethren can treat each other from time to time.  They did it solely because they care.  

            So off I went to the fourth congregation and I had a wonderful time.  The attendance was very good and friends and visitors came from miles away to hear the gospel.  Certain preacher friends of mine came who would not be asked to lead in prayer at this fourth congregation and they would not ask the preacher at the fourth congregation to lead in prayer at the congregations where they work.  I was also “informed” about the preacher at another congregation that I am supposed to go to.  

          WHAT IS GOING ON???      

            In Galatian 5:13 – 15, Paul wrote these words, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”  

            When Paul begins the 15^th verse with the word “but”, he is drawing a contrast between “loving thy neighbor as thyself” and “biting and devouring one another”.  It is a conditional sentence that assumes the “biting” and the “devouring” to be a reality and the conclusion follows logically from that assumption.  In other words, biting and devouring were already taking place among the Galatians.  The Lord’s Church has had almost 2,000 years to stop it.  How good of a job have we done?

            Brother Mike Willis gave the following explanation of verse 15.  “The comparison is to vicious animals biting and devouring one another until they kill each other.  The word dakno (bite) literally means ‘to bite with the teeth’ and then metaphorically means to ‘wound the soul, cut, lacerate, rend with reproaches.’  Katesthio (devour) literally means ‘to eat up, consume, devour, swallow.’”  

            How graphically the Holy Spirit describes what we can do to each other!!!  We can pick, fuss, fight, gossip, backbite and verbally assault until we are used up – destroyed.  That can be true numerically, but more important than that, it happens spiritually.  It can reach in and rip the heart out of a child of God.  It can make you feel almost punch-drunk until you either withdraw yourself into your own little protected shell, or you can find yourself doing the same kind of thing – talking about folks and being anxious to hear all the latest about everybody.  

I just do not believe that this is what the Lord prayed for with the shadow of the cross looming over Him not even 24 hours away.   Jesus prayed, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me.” (John 17:20 & 21)  

            It is so easy to get caught up in this kind of stuff and there have been times in the past when I have.  I pray for forgiveness.  Our time on earth is too short and there is too much work to do to give such conduct one second, of one minute, of one hour, of one day that the Lord blesses us with.

                                                Greg Litmer