One Another
Gary Mueller
Four Lakes Church of Christ
Madison, Wisconsin
April 30, 2023

In keeping with the theme of “one another” I’d like to take us to a scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5:14,
And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
In this verse Paul directs his readers to accept several responsibilities. He assigns them with the responsibility to warn against idleness and about their slothful attitude. He tells his readers to cheer up the fainthearted.

Paul also calls on the Thessalonian Christians to assist weaker believers to trust the Lord in every situation. It is easy to give up on the idle or unruly, the fainthearted, and the weak, so Paul exhorts us to exercise patience with everybody, always keep your temper.
To do these things we need to keep in mind to celebrate the uniqueness of God’s children!  We should recognize that God created us all differently, but equally. We are not alike, and we all have the right to be who we are. What annoys one person may not bother another. What brings happiness to me may not be your cup of tea. If one person is off putting in their mood, it should not affect you negatively, rather it should make you have empathy and wonder of what that person is going through in that moment. These short pauses will reflect a maturing disciple and understanding of how to be helpful or encouraging to one another. 
Why does God make us all different and then put us together and tell us to get along? God purposely does not make everything easy for us. I am convinced that it’s through the struggle of life that we grow spiritually. He wants us to exercise our “faith muscles” and release the fruit of the Spirit, including love, patience, peace, and self-control. If everyone pleased us all the time, if our faith wasn’t stretched and our fruit never squeezed, we would not grow spiritually. 
We must be willing to break barriers with each other and get into each other’s lives not intrusively or disrespectfully, but in love! 
In Romans 12:15 we are reminded to share in each other’s grief as well as each other’s joy. 
In Matt 6:14-15 we are reminded to show mercy to others forgiving one another to ensure God’s forgiveness of our trespasses.
In Closing bear in mind, God created us uniquely but equally and that through salvation we are all made anew, born again to reflect Jesus in us, Hallelujah, right?!?!
 So, in short, we need to begin and continue acting like we are recreated by the blood of the lamb and to live and reflect a faithful life showing what first Corinthians 13:11 reminded us of: to be joyful, encourage each other, and live in harmony and peace.