Conflicted
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
4 So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. (Exodus 11:4-8)
As God prepared to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt, God knew that the pharaoh's pride would not let him allow the people to go easily. Even after God subjected the Egyptian people to several severe plagues, Pharaoh's heart remained hardened toward God, Moses and the Israelites. Finally, God spoke in the only language the pharaoh would respect - war. God struck down every first-born son of Egypt - human and animal alike. As God knew he would, once the pharaoh's own family was impacted, he then demanded that the Israelites
leave Egypt immediately.
When we fail to love God and each other, we sin. And the wages of sin - the payment our sin earns - is death. Death caused by our sin is not always, or even often, literal as it was in Egypt. Most often it's the death of relationship, community, security, or trust. This death is destructive and divisive. But Romans 6:23 doesn't end with the wages of sin, it goes on to say that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. Though our sins earn us death, God freely gives us access to life. Death does not have to be the end. When conflicts and disagreements arise we can choose to drop our pride, and humbly ask God to soften our hearts. Even when separation and division occur, we can step through that death into new life - creating space for a
new, healthier, relationship.
Loving one another is not about warm feelings, but acknowledging and respecting the image of God in each other and seeking good for one another as a result. Sometimes the conflict is internal - there may be things within us that we need to let die so that we can step into new life, whole and healthy. If, as God desires, we all attain eternal life through Jesus, our ability (or inability) to love one another might determine rather that eternity is Heaven or Hell. With God's help, may we let go of those things that bring death and destruction and cling to the things
that lead us to God's way of abundant life.
15 "If your brother and sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If you are listened to, you have regained that one. 16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If that person refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:15-18)
Enjoy this original song by yours truly.
...And this beautiful hymn!
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