"That Ye Love One Another"

I am thoroughly enjoying reading A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot. Her boldness for Christ and her devotion to Christ have greatly challenged me in my walk with the Lord. The following excerpt from her diary is an indictment on all of us who are co-laborers in the harvest field, and yet cannot love one another and serve peaceably with one another. I am not speaking of ecumenicism; I am speaking of like-minded, fundamental Baptists who serve the same God and hold the same convictions, but allow pride and the flesh to cause unnecessary and harmful strife.

After being told by a veteran missionary in India that missionaries "always do fall out with one another, and then make it up," this was her response, which she recorded in her diary:

"We have never lived like that (speaking of the workers at the Dohnavur Fellowship, the orphanage that she founded). We could not bear to live for one minute out of love with one another. I suppose this answer sounded simply silly to the one who knew so much better than I did about missionary life."

May God have mercy on us if we as co-laboreres in the harvest fields cannot learn to love one another, forgive one another, and serve peaceably with one another.