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in the arena, part 3 (or things to fight for: hearts knit together)
By Amber | August 25, 2008
The second thing Paul contends before God for his disciples is that their hearts would be “knit together in love”. I risk stating the obvious, but it bears emphasis that this love is God’s love for us in Christ.
This love is itself the knitting together of our hearts because it makes us one in Christ. When we recognize God’s love for us is truly in and through Christ, we can begin to love others in Christ as well. We know that God loves us not because of anything we are or do, but because of Who Christ is and what He has done. In the same way, we love one another - other Christians - not because of who they are or what they have done, but because of Christ’s person and work for them on the cross. Even the most unlovely Christian becomes lovely when we view him in Christ.
This knitting together of our hearts becomes “a solid phalanx in the service of divine truth,” as Nicholson puts it. Ecclesiastes 4:12 chimes in, “ A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.“ Nicholson elaborates:
The knitting together of heart to heart acts and reacts upon each one’s personal sympathies with the truth, and therefore multiplies the comfort in the soul, enlarging and consolidating the strength.
This knitting together … is to be labored for in clear teaching, earnest prayer, and in the cultivation of the brotherhood in Christ.
So when you are praying for your small group, struggle earnestly before God, as Paul did, that “their hearts may encouraged, being knit together in love.”
Topics: Inspire, Small Groups |