relationships (Psalm 119:57-64) Unity and Love vs Tolerance and Acceptance

(Psalm 119:57-64) 

57 The Lord is my portion;
     I have promised to keep Your words.
58 I sought Your favor with all my heart;
     Be gracious to me according to Your word.
59 I considered my ways 
     And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I hurried and did not delay 
     To keep Your commandments.
61 The snares of the wicked have surrounded me,
     But I have not forgotten Your Law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You 
     Because of Your righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion to all those who fear You,
     And to those who keep Your precepts.
64 The earth is full of Your goodness, Lord;
     Teach me Your statutes.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The most important relationship we could ever have is with the Lord Jesus.  Once we have made Him Lord and Savior of our life, He seals us with His Holy Spirit.  Because of Him and His grace, we cannot lose our salvation, even though, no matter how much we promise to obey God's word, we will stumble and stray.  But because He loves us and wants the best for us, He helps us and guides us in the way that we should go, giving us purpose and clarity in truth, hope and love.  And while God will never disown us from being His child, everything works out for good when we strive to obey and continue to put Jesus first in our lives... as our first love.

THEN, we are told to love others.  While we are told to love all people, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and even love our enemies, being friends with the world, or having confidants who are not believers, or marrying someone who is not a true Christian, is a whole different story!  It might seem good, for a while, but deceptions and major cracks will become evident.  And if we continue to make efforts in pleasing unbelievers, we will come face to face with "the need" to compromise, and certain temptations and distractions will very easily pull us away from the Lord, because now we are putting people ahead of God. 

This doesn't mean that we should completely avoid being around unbelievers.  We are actually told to be in the world, but not of the world.  In this way, as we show God's love to everyone, we will be a living testimony of what God can do in our lives.  But as David mentions in verse 63, his constant companions are other steadfast believers, who are also putting Christ first in their lives.  In fact, as we foster deep relationships with other believers, the world will notice!  

We have seen how our society is trying to spur on "tolerance" and "acceptance" in their own wisdom, yet in their efforts, they have done more to create divisiveness and polarization.  In this same movement, many churches have fallen prey to compromising and diminishing God's word to the point that they are only worshiping their made-up-Jesus, a mere god or idealized man created in their own image.  They have watered down God's truth so that their argument will be supported in that we can all just make up our own truths, according to our own preferences.  Again, this is not only putting people first, but it is completely denying God and His truth.

Meanwhile, for believers who meet up with other God-fearing believers who strive to remain steadfast and dedicated to God's will, we will find a solid foundation.  If there is a disagreement, we will agree that God is always right, that the Bible is the infallible word of God, and His commandments and His word will settle and sort out all discrepancies.  

God's word tells us that we should nurture our relationships with fellow believers.  Being part of a spiritual family that sets aside prejudices and preferences, as well as cultural and political differences... this in itself demonstrates what God can do in our lives!  And because we have a common bond in Christ, we will experience a supernatural unity through His Holy Spirit, as we worship and work together, serve, encourage, edify and look out for one another, as well as keep each other steadfast in our love for the Lord... always placing Him as our first love.