II Corinthians 2:5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Paul wanted no part of division in the church. When he thought that people might be polarizing, choosing sides, and holding grudges - he bowed out. He was not willing for personal hurt to cause a chasm. Forgiveness and reaffirming love - those are the characteristics of Christ and His true followers. Sometimes we are so blinded to how Satan works: divide and conquer. It started in the garden; he tried to isolate Christ from everyone; he is still trying to split God's people apart today. Let's not be so ignorant or outwitted. Forgive, encourage, raffirm.
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