Be of the Same Mind in the Lord

John said he loved Jesus, yet at the cross fear drove him to betray him. Only later, when he saw with his own eyes Christ seated on the throne and the book of life, did he come to recognize his sin and the faith he had failed to show that day.

Sin is not forgotten as time passes; the more faith grows, the more clearly it comes into view. The quarrel between Euodia and Syntyche arose for the same reason. Each put her own judgment and pride first, saying, “This is for the work of God,” while underneath lay an unwillingness to bend her own will.

The church is not a place where matters are settled by worldly knowledge and self-assertion. Where salvation is not at stake, those who give way, leave the matter to the Holy Spirit and quietly bear with it will find that God resolves it in his own time. A life lived with such forbearance is recorded just as it was in the book before the throne, and God is watching that life.