-Paul has already set unity and harmony of thought and purpose as the goal to which this entire (and every other) assembly should aspire (Philippians 1.27, Philippians 2.2). Here he singles out two women in particular who apparently are falling short of that in some way. Clearly there must have been some ongoing trouble between them, either at some point in the past while Paul was there, or in the present and Paul has been informed of this by Epaphroditus, or even both. As we learn in the next verse, Paul knows these women personally, and he will give disunity and lovelessness no quarter in the church of Christ, which is His Body and His chosen instrument for showing and carrying His love and breathtaking goodness to the world.
-So the question then comes to us: how is it that one of us can deign to allow any disunity and strife to exist and fester within the Body, between us and another believer? Jesus states quite clearly that we must do all we can to try and eradicate it - we forgive our brothers and let go of the hurts and offenses, and we seek to make peace with them (Matthew 18.21-22, Matthew 5.23-24). In fact He so much as says don’t even waste your time trying to engage in worship if you haven’t tried to make peace with your brother. Don’t bother with the vertical relationship if there’s something messed up with a horizontal relationship, particularly with a fellow believer. We are NEVER to pay back evil for evil to anyone and we must do our level best to maintain peace in all our relationships (Romans 12.17-18, cf Matthew 5.9, Hebrews 12.14, James 3.18), but our relationships with our fellow Christ-followers must be cultivated and pursued at a MUCH higher level (cf Romans 14.10, Romans 14.15, Romans 14.19-21, 1Corinthians 6.6, 1Corinthians 8.11-13, 2Corinthians 13.11-12, Ephesians 4.1-3, Colossians 3.13-15, 1Thessalonians 5.13-15, James 2.15-16, 1John 3.17, 1John 4.20-21). We are commanded to PURSUE the things that make for peace and for building up one another within the Body. We do not have the luxury of allowing even a drop of disharmony any place within Christ’s Body. That means whether we are the offender or the offended, we must go out of our way and make every possible effort to rescue our relationships with fellow believers and drag them out of the garbage. Leave your offering at the altar today, and go and at least try to be reconciled with your brother or sister. Every inch of ground we surrender in this area gives the enemy room to manuever and short circuits God’s blessing in and through our lives. We are called to something higher than disharmony and disunity, something better...
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