How can anything good come from a plague? One moment the first Christian family were happily meeting in large groups in Jerusalem, the next they were fleeing for their lives and meeting in small homes.

But nothing could stop these Christians. Instead of shrinking back into nothing, they took over the world. They very soon found out that there was nothing as contagious as the Word of God. Instead of holding this great gift for the world in neat little buildings God dispersed it throughout the world.

I imagine every dispersed family had a story to tell. And I don’t think these stories were pretty. Relational conflict can be directly tied to the amount of transitions we are going through. Transitional stresses like work insecurity, troubling adolescents, recent birth, midlife crises, recent death, retirement, sickness, and aging parents. And sometimes attitudes start to stink. Commitments move from solid to conflict or closed; information exchange moves from excellent to poor; self-disclosure moves from good to absent; criticism from low to very high; credibility from high to low; and members of a cooped up home can start to feel very lonely.

But Christians find a way back by strengthening their relationships with God. They learn to let go of the bad and to focus on the good. Friend, let the accusations of Satan shrink to nothing by focusing on God’s Word so that it may expand: Colossians 3:15 (ESV) — 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.