It is sad that Christianity is divided into so many different groups. We all have a little different interpretation of the bible and a little different understanding of doctrine. Obviously, we are not going to agree on everything but we certainly should be able to love one another and accept each other even when we differ on these things.
It is hard to understand why this is when God tells us we are to be one as Jesus and the Father are one. Yet, we understand that we are human and it is easy to lose sight of our first love. If we could only stay focused on Christ, listening for his voice and the guidance of the Spirit, loving God and loving others as God intended, then we could begin to look past our differences.
The problem seems to be that we are unwilling to see any other viewpoint other than our own. There are those such as my wife and I that do not attend an organized church. There are those who attend a church every time the doors are open. Some attend a house church, some meet with fellow believers at cafe’s, parks or restaurants and others meet in their homes over dinner. We should accept these differences and love one another rather than argue over who is right and who is wrong.
There really is not a right or wrong way to assemble together and we need to stop expecting everyone to do things exactly the same way. We should respect others viewpoints and focus on loving them rather than expecting them to see things our way.
Things will not change until we start focusing on what is common in our lives rather than the differences. The common focus should be on Christ, the head of the body. After that we should focus on loving others rather than arguing about the differences in interpretation and doctrine.
We also need to keep in mind that we are all constantly changing as God brings new truth to us. We are all learning and changing as we are ready to accept new truths. The interpretations I had five years ago are completely different from some of the interpretations I have now. I am sure in another five years they will change again as God leads me into more truth.
Sometimes we are afraid to accept others interpretations because we feel if we do not hold to our way of thinking we are compromising and not standing up for what we believe. We do not have to give up how we interpret the bible, but neither should we think everyone else is wrong. Besides, we really are not responsible for convicting people of sin or leading them into truth or even saving them. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. We are told to love God and love others.
When we realize we are each equally important functioning parts of the body and Christ is the head, we can start to change how we feel about those who do not see things exactly the way we do. We can begin to accept the differences in our brothers and sisters in Christ as we realize we are all following after our Father and our goal is to show His love to all people.
Thank you. I appreciate that. I am enjoying your articles too.
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Magnificent article brother!!!!!!
I’m posting this to my site.
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[…] Divisions in the Body of Christ Should Not Be […]
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I think that is all to true. Many times it seems the thinking is that it is my way or else. Good point. Thank you.
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I often wonder if too many of us want to win the argument rather than the heart, and be Right, rather than cloaked in righteousness. How many should use the brackets “(*my* interpretation of)” between “the inerrancy of” and “the Bible”
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Such good points jem. You hit the nail on the head. Thank you.
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Say that! Yes! I think one of the things that causes such division is the whole fear thing which we are so susceptible to – fear of going to hell if we do it wrong, fear of judgement, fear of consequences, fear of others, fear of hell-fire, plus, plus, plus, ad infinitem. And so often our churches are compounding that fear by false teaching (often even without realizing it) instead of concentrating on “Fear not!” they concentrate on “If you don’t (of if you do) you’ll be damned!” Jesus is about love – God the Father instructs us to “Fear not” 365 times in the Bible – that’s one for each day just to help us remember to love and not be afraid. When we are afraid we judge, we condemn, we push away instead of pulling in (it’s opposite of what love does). The church is so often so far from loving, but keep doing what you are doing, Jim. Little by little like water dripping on a stone! I applaud your efforts.
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