This morning, I had to ask myself, “Who or what is defining the value I place on those with whom I might disagree?” Every day we are being programmed with negative interpretive offerings in an attempt to divide us from other people. Only the Lord’s interpretation is without error. Ours are pockmarked with human failings. A wise friend of mine recently said, “If you want to be a reformer you must first be willing to be a redeemer.”

As the Church attempts to reassemble, we will not be coming back to an illusionary norm that vanished months ago. Those days are gone. What will happen when we come back together is to discover we may have misunderstood or unfairly judged others in our shared absence. We need to prepare our hearts for these reunions. If not, we will be blinded by our judgment and unforgiveness and fall to the wayside of the Lord’s calling for our lives. Reformers must first be redeemers if they are going to take part in the Great Commission.

We are all working out our faith and that process is wrought with all kinds of emotional baggage – baggage we bring to every relationship. We need to give each other some slack. A tight leash on any relationship doesn’t lead, it strangles.