How Good and Pleasant It Is

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity."

Psalm 133:1

One of Ashlyn and Emily's favorite games to play together is one that they call "Princess and Dog".  Yes, I agree that it sounds odd.  Emily, our little miss priss, is the Princess, so she puts a jump-rope around the waist of Ashlyn, our animal loving vet-wanna-be, while Ash pretends to be the lead dog.  They love this game.  It's funny to me because each one is very happy in their role--they never argue about it.  Emily is always the princess.  Ashlyn is always the dog.  That is that and they love it.

When they were playing the other day, I started thinking (yikes!).  As a mother, almost nothing blesses my heart more than to see my kids playing well together and getting along.  However, along those same lines, almost nothing is more frustrating than those days when they are arguing and complaining to one another.  That really helped me gain a better understanding of how pleased our Father must be when we are striving for peace and sticking together, even in the midst of adversity. Then, how sad He must be when we, His children, argue amongst ourselves and cause divisions.  

This may sound negative, but the Bible says that the enemy is always seeking to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8).  It's just the unfortunate truth. It is so important that we are not ignorant of those schemes, and that we rise above our emotions sometimes for the sake of peace, so that we can be in unity.  That is my prayer for my family as well as my fellow believers.  Let us always keep in mind the words of Jesus in John 13:35, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."