Good interaction with each other at the Bible Study Clubs is and remains a difficult matter. It is not one of our strong points. There are frequent complaints about the tense atmosphere at the clubs, sometimes leading to people becoming frustrated and resigning as members. This in turn fuels further frustration, as those who are not a member of a club are often looked upon critically.

Looking at the average composition of a club, maintaining good interaction does indeed appear to be an ambitious undertaking. For a club is certainly the meeting ground of an assortment of people, each with differing backgrounds and characters. There are younger and older members, those who feel at home in the club situation and those who feel intimidated by the more senior and/or vocal members. There are the depressed, the dreamers, the reticent, and over and against all these the cheerful and those who love to be involved and speak. Every day evening all these people come together to pool their talents and busy themselves with the Word of God. Indeed this is a good thing, yet not always a guarantee that a club will run smoothly. A complaint often voiced is that there is a lot of talking but not much listen­ing, and that too often the discussion is dominated by too few.

How fierce a response can there be to a ques­tion or answer which falls just outside the 'accepted' framework. How little understanding is evident if someone else does not 'see it right', or continues to waver on a 'decided' issue. How often do we present our opinion and our practice as the only right one.

The results of all this are predictable: people feel overpowered, misunderstood and unjustly criticised. The worst thing is the feeling that the extent of your being 'reformed' is doubted.

All this penetrates beyond the clubrooms into other church relations as well. Families are seen and discussed in a certain light and so called 'border' persons can be driven even still closer to the edge. Because of all this, the so oft praised communion of saints becomes a joke for some, whilst it is obvious that in the church and clubs this should not be the case. It is precisely there that everyone should feel secure and accepted.

How very clear the Lord is in His Word regarding this. The Lord Jesus Himself had so much attention, love and care for all the people He met. Among them were all sorts of different characters. I do not have to enlarge on that here. Christ came not "to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). There lies the kernel of mixing with each other. The apostle Paul calls upon us to remove from our midst all bitterness, wrath, anger and malice. "...be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31, 32).

Put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved; compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.Colossians 3:12, 13

We live in the forgiveness of our sins. It is our comfort and surety that the Lord for the sake of Christ accepts me personally and that He takes pity on me every time again. How much patience this must take on His part, for I also have funny quirks and oddities and yet God does not reject me. Christ came to give Him­self for me also. Those who are personally fully aware of the greatness of that miracle; that the Lord also stoops down to him or her, will then also interact differently with their brothers and sisters. If the Lord also calls them his children, who am I that I should be allowed to deal with them roughly, unkindly and condescendingly. Then I ought not raise myself above someone else and I will use the gifts which the Lord gave me "for the common good" (1 Corinthians12:7). Perhaps I can speak and formulate my thoughts well, perhaps I have a sharp discerning mind or an extensive knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. But are they mine through my own merit? Did the Lord give me these gifts for my own greater honour and glory, or to impress or knock someone with them?

Another word in this context is: self-denial. To say no to yourself sometimes. To give someone else a bit more space. To realise that you not only received a mouth to speak with, but also ears to listen. Not so much that you listen to the opinion of the other, but that you listen to the person himself: To the person behind the words. Who is the other? Why does he say it like that? What does he really mean? This requires self-denial and patience.

Again, particularly in the church, particular­ly at the clubs where the Word of the Lord is heard and studied, it can not be but that the Word of God has its impact on our interaction with each other. Surely we do not go to a club to read the Bible objectively and rationally? Surely we do this work to understand and experience personally and collectively the great love of God in Christ for sinners. If that miracle touches us all, then we do not discuss together, but we communicate with each other. Nevertheless we have to realise that Christian interaction is not set apart from certain general rules and values. Actually, the Holy Scripture teaches us that "a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1), "pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body" (Proverbs 16:24), and "he who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of under­standing" (Proverbs 17:27).

If people feel themselves threatened because of someone else's tone or look, they may hard­en themselves outwardly as well as inwardly. In this case the doors are closing and your words (how true they may be) do not penetrate. But in an atmosphere of quiet trust and goodwill a lot can be said and ac­cepted.

Today you have been busy gaining an eye and ear for those things by reading this. I hope it has been a support and stimulus to promote Christian interaction with each other at the clubs.