1 John 4:9-12 (NLT) - “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love-not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

“Community brings out the best in us. And the worst. Community life brings a painful revelation of our limitations, weaknesses and darkness; the unexpected discovery of the monsters within us is hard to accept…”

“If the church is to be a radically reconciled community, it must be a fellowship where we are so secure in each other that we can share our feelings honestly without fearing rejection. We must create an environment where we confess our sins to each other, ask each other for forgiveness…And we must be able to lovingly confront one another and be willing to be confronted with our own sins.

“Reconciliation, you see, is not a warm feeling; it is love, and love always acts. Reconciliation is a unity of heart, mind and purpose. Our reconciliation is reveled and completed as we work hand in hand to reach out to bring others into fellowship with God and with us.”

“The believing fellowship must be a living demonstration of the love that God gives us for one another…To do the work of reconciliation, then, we must begin by being a reconciled fellowship…Our love for each other gives credibility and power to our witness…We must be a reconciled fellowship on mission. And our mission is to bring others into fellowship with God and with us” (John M. Perkins, With Justice For All, p.148-149, 143-144).

“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” The church is a ‘come-back’ people. We are always coming back into the reconciling love of God. This reconciliation is what defines us and what identifies us as God’s people. At the core of who we are together is God’s reconciliation. Therefore, this is the core of what we do and what will always keep us together and keeping us growing together. Deeper than our diversity is God’s reconciliation.

Let’s thank God for this central reality in our lives together. Let’s ask Him to increase this understanding and way of living together so that we will reveal how wonderful God’s love is - that His love will be brought to full expression in and through us.

-TR