The Saints Below

I heard a story the other day about a feud set shortly before the American Revolutionary War. As with many feuds, this one happened because of a forbidden romance. A girl had decided to run away with a man against her parent’s wishes. In fact, no one in her home village approved of this man. Some time later, the local militia was called up and both this man and the father of his wife reported for duty. Tensions ran high while their commanding officer demanded they put aside their differences. Finally, one of the men, who was from the woman’s town, said these words: “There’s a battle to fight. This unpleasantness between us should be forgot.”

I thought about those words. And then I thought about the church. We often have feuds and disagreements about a myriad of issues. It’s been said that “to dwell with the saints above will be glory, but to dwell with the saints below, well, that’s a different story.” But like those militia men, we have a battle to fight. Jesus told the disciples one day, “I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matthew 16:18). The church is under attack and we shouldn’t be distracted by so much unpleasantness between us. Won’t you join in me in focusing less on other people and their problems and more on Jesus and the victory that He is working on our behalf? Let’s make living with the saints below a little more like living with the saints above.