Living Together as Family – January 28, 2019
Psalm 133 includes the following: “. . . how good and pleasant it is, when brethren live together” and ends with, “For the Lord has ordained the blessing, life for evermore.” These words of King David upon the union of Israel, have great meaning in today’s world.
If we accept God as strength, we need no other defense against those who try to oppress us. He is the only defense we need. If we believe that God’s ways are the ways of truth and grace, then His path is the one we must follow.
I have always said that I love all people, even those I disagree with. I don’t care how obnoxious or evil one is, he is also a child of God, only he has lost his way. He deserves to be loved as much as someone who is kind and loving. He is one that Jesus referred to as the least of these.
We must take the role of complete adoption of this idea, if we want the world to be a better place. Anger and violence only create more anger and violence. Oppression leads to exclusion, poverty, hunger, and a number of other negative factors that we are taught to correct. Only our greed (and fear) keeps us from this.
My wife rebukes me sometimes when I refer to a stranger as dear or brother. But I always am rewarded by a smile and often a hug. Isn’t this God’s way? “Oh, how good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity.”
