Do you know what ‘nap’ is?  I’m not talking about an afternoon siesta or mommies resting time when baby takes a wee sleep. 

No, I’m referring to fabric nap. Some fabrics have a definitive nap or direction, such as corduroy, velvet or velveteen, suede and other plush fabrics.  If they are put together with the nap going opposite directions, the finished piece looks foreign, and almost as though it’s made from two different fabrics. 

Funny thing about nap; if the pieces are all cut with the nap going the same direction, the finished garment will look gorgeous, even fluid.

People seem to have nap, too. Put a few women together in a small group setting, and as long as they are all going the same direction, they will flow, but if one of those ladies is going elsewhere, you might have chaos.

Scripture teaches about the body of Christ. The body is a singular word, but when used in this manner, the body is made up of many parts all going the same direction, and is therefore singular in dimension.  These parts are not all the same and they don’t all come from the same place, but when they go toward Christ together, they flow and are fluid in motion.

If a person is out of sync, or rubbed the wrong way, like the nap of a piece of fabric, the group will suffer. If one person wants to go one direction, but the whole is going another, the Spirit may be quenched. 

In the first book of Thessalonians, Paul is speaking to the church in Thessalonica, admonishing them with some ‘common sense’. He says, in 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 5, “¹⁶ Rejoice evermore. ¹⁷ Pray without ceasing. ¹⁸ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ¹⁹ Quench not the Spirit. ²⁰ Despise not prophesyings. ²¹ Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. ²² Abstain from all appearance of evil.”  Quenching the Spirit causes all kinds of havoc and peace is not attainable.

Human beings that we are, we will never agree on everything this side of heaven, but we must not be in such disagreement as to quench the Spirit.  We must not let discord creep in or false teaching to invade.

Are you in a small group? Perhaps your church has small groups, or you have simply found fellowship with other like believers.  Stay the course and keep your destiny in mind; the destiny to be One in Christ.  Strive for that perfect peace that is written about in Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

I once heard an old country preacher say it like this: If you’re not in agreement or don’t like the message, turn the cat around and stroke it the other way. 

All scriptures are taken from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

© 2014 Cat Brennan