Michael Jackson preaches a sermon we need

Dear friends, I write to you to share a song that touch my heart deeply...

This song is from the late Michael Jackson - Heal The World...

Chorus of Heal The World:

Heal the world,
make it a better place,
for you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying if you care enough for the living
make it a better place for you and for me...
------------------------------------------

This is the chorus of a secular song, not much Christian at all, yet it speaks of what is needed to be done here...

We need to "Heal the cell, make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire cluster"

Heal the cell? Is there a need to? You kidding?

Heal the cracklines and flaws in our relationships with each other in the cell

All from the construction industry will know that buildings are made of concrete, and if there is any hairline cracks in any concrete wall or support, the integrity of the building drops a lot. The building need not lose a pillar before it collapses, just many hair-line cracks will do the job. Thats why from outside we see a perfect building, but yet it is on the bringe of collapse.

Isn't this exactly the same as for our relationships with each other? From afar when we see it, we see it as a perfect building, sturdy and strong... What we fail to observe is the hair-line cracks on the supports and beams... This is dangerous as we overlook the fine hairline cracks, and have the wrong impression that our relationships are strong. In reality, the relationships may be on the bringe of collapsing without us knowing at all...

So what are these "fine looking, hairline cracks" in our relationships? They are hurts that we thought is small, not worthy of our attention. We hurt each other with our words, actions and tone yet we think that it is okay, it is minor, it is a joke only. We even feel that the other party is over sensitive, over reactive. Even if the hurts are there, we are evil (cannot find a better word) to the extent to think that the person will recover from a small wound. If so, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves as Christians.

Just like Paul of the bible, who says "Not that I have attained all these, but am pressing on to achieve and lay hold of it", I come in the same humility, ashamed for all the hurts which i inflicted on the cell group. I recently patch up with a sister whom i hurt, and until now still feel guilty and uneasy for it... (Sorry again to you, if you are reading this). I have a long way to go to be tactful and refined in speech, actions and tone. But I'm willing to say sorry and atone for my mistakes, making sure it will not happen again.

Yes, I am one of them who have hurt a brother/sister. What do I do?

I am a spiritual noob, can't offer that much advice... But I feel that we need to go up to the person and apologise... And yes, we need to lay down our pride just like Paul, who said: "I am less than the least of all God's people"and hence said "I consider everything (including pride) rubbish compared to knowing Jesus Christ".

An apology really makes the difference... I experienced the heart-warming feeling of an apology and I think this is a first step. It doesn't matter who is right or wrong, because God calls us to be peacemakers for they are the children of God. After the apology, there needs to be repentance on our part not to allow such a thing to happen. If we can do that, I feel what Michael sings about making a better place in the chorus will come to pass.

What is the consequence if we do not heal the cell?

Like what Michael sings: "there are people dying, if we care enough for the living", our brothers and sisters will "die" if we do not care about them. They will not die physically, but emotionally and spiritually. These victims of hurt will build defenses against our very own people instead of defending against the attacks of the devil. They will tell themselves that it is useless trying to confront the problem, no one will hear and no one will change. In the end, they will lose hope, faith and love in the cell group and falter away....

Epilogue

Why do I choose to use Michael Jackson's song? It is not that i cannot find a Christian song, but I want to illustrate a point. I want to highlight that even pre-believers understand the importance of care and the healing of souls. My friends, we need to make an "extra mile effort" in our fellowships and meetings to edify, care and understand each other to kill the poison of indifference and the hardening of our hearts. Only then we can really heal the cell, make it a better place for you and for me...

I do not like to share much on bible verses simply because i'm not good with the Word yet. I feel that wherever God place us, He can use the things around to teach us something. Bible scripture preaching will leave to Sunday service and Friday cell group to cover.

As you read to this point, maybe you feel that all this is rubbish, this is not happening, this is not an issue. For me, God says in 1 Peter 2 that it is His will that we do good, love the brotherhood, fear Him and honor the king. This year is a year of Loving Our Neighbours, and I want to heal the cell, make it a better place for you and for me... Who's with me?

Signed with deep apologies for repentence,
VaZe