To paraphrase Jesus: conflict you will always have with you. Anyone who’s been married for even a few years knows that there is no such thing as a conflict-free marriage. No one who’s raised children has done it without conflict. No congregation has ever been conflict-free, going back to Acts 5-6.

The question for Christians isn’t how to avoid conflict. Conflict doesn’t go away because we ignore it. Instead, the conflict gets shoved underground or swept under our numerous rugs, and (to paraphrase the Lord again) the state of that house is worse than at first.

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