By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team 
An old friend and Pastor of mine, who grew up on a dairy farm in Vermont, told me he often would rather minister to cows than people. Why do you think the Bible often refers to people as sheep? People aren’t always the easiest creatures to get along with, be they believers or not. Yet one of the ways God wants us to show our love for Him is through our love for one another. Paul told the Philippians, “fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, having the same mind … let each one of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” If everyone did that we would all get along famously! It doesn’t mean everyone is your best friend, admittedly there are some people I just don’t like, but I can love them. Rifts between people still happen but they need to be mended. You are not responsible for anyone’s actions but your own. If a rift occurs between you and someone, you are the one responsible to try and mend it. Pray about it, don’t talk about it. Listen with both ears to their side of the story, pray about it, confess your part of the problem, do all you can to restore the relationship, and if the other person refuses, pray about it and let it go, you tried. You are only responsible for your willing heart to reconcile the rift. Maybe if we all spent more time removing the planks from our own eyes we wouldn’t notice any specks in other eyes. As Paul wrote the Romans, “If it is possible as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Especially our brothers and sisters in the Lord!