A Band of Natural Enemies. . . .

There are some broken and tense relationships in my life that I've been working hard to bring to reconciliation lately.  And sadly, with little apparent success.  As a result, I've been looking for encouragement and guidance, and while re-reading an article on forgiveness and reconciliation in the life of the church, I came across this extraordinary statement:

The reason there are so many exhortations in the New Testament for Christians to love other Christians is because . . . the church itself is not made up of natural “friends.” It is made up of natural enemies.