Better to Be 5 Minutes Late

“There’s there’s an enormous difference between having different perspectives or opinions on some subject and being out of fellowship. Being out of fellowship means you have lost your temper. It means you have sinned against one another. It means you have a grudge, or you are bitter, or you have resentment…

Love deals with sin right away. And since the devil likes to get a foothold here, let me just point out that sometimes marital bumps will occur at the most inopportune moments, e.g. on the way to church, just as friends are walking up to your house for dinner, maybe even during a dinner party, or late at night when everyone is tired and not thinking clearly. Make it a point to deal with sin right away. Do not walk into church out of fellowship. Leave your gift at the altar. Be five minutes late and be reconciled first. Welcome your dinner guests inside and briefly excuse yourselves in order to get back into fellowship quickly. If you’re at a crowded party and something pops, lean over and whisper your confession and forgiveness…

If you’re not in the habit of confessing sin and forgiving quickly, some of this might seem awkward in the beginning, but like many good things, you can actually become good at it. It’s always a bit embarrassing, but it’s always an opportunity to glory in the cross. We are Christians and confession of sin and forgiveness are central to our Christian joy. Christian marriages and homes are not clean because we don’t make messes; they are clean because we’ve learned to pick up. We have fellowship with one another because the blood of Jesus washes us clean.” (No Mere Mortals, 37-39)

www.nomeremortals.com

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