Division, Dissention & Discord

I have a few things on my mind as service rolls around for Good Friday. Within the church here at Lima, the wider church in our country, and the Church worldwide, I'm noticing more recently a lot of division, dissention and discord among believers. Particularly because I just got done with "History of the Christian Church", which opened my eyes to the division we truly do have in Christianity. Not just of different sects such as Eastern Orthodox and Catholicism or the Church of England and Baptist, but within denominations too. Not only that, but within particular groups of believers.

It grieves me so much that people argue and fight over things that, in the grand scheme of things, don't matter to a hill of beans. The trouble is, we all agree on the one thing necessary...that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and our Personal Lord and Savior. That is what matters...not the direction of a church, the policies adopted by a denomination or even the days we celebrate Holidays. We have Christ in common, the rest are details. So, why don't we just knock off the fighting because it grieves God so much to see His own children fighting over things that don't matter. Winning souls to Jesus Christ is what matters. The trouble is, we will never all agree to disagree and leave well enough alone. We are human. We all insist that WE are right. So, with that said, I make the first move, the ball is in the court of other Christians to adopt this same attitude.

No matter the difference I have with any believer, I will not pursue a path that might turn us against each other. I will adopt a loving attitude toward all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Personal Lord and Savior. If we do disagree, I will only put out there my belief and why I believe what I do. The only thing I will try to 'convince' anyone of is that Jesus is the Christ, the Lord of all and Savior of the world and that He needs to be your personal Lord and Savior. That is my job. To evangelize the non-believers and to disciple and educate others on the walk with Christ. Just because I am a minister doesn't make me any holier than anyone else. I am a sinner and I will mess things up. But according to my walk with Jesus, I am bound to keep pursuing a path of righteousness and love toward all people, keeping in mind that doctrinal differences are only that. Differences that truly don't matter in the grand scheme of things. When it comes to Christ, He is #1 in my life. Period. End of Sentence.

I charge everyone to examine their lives, find the discord and repair the damage done. We all have it, no matter who we are. The job now is to repair it and attempt to walk in the Light of Christ. As for me, my job is to lead this church in Lima to unity and a path that is in the Will of God. I will start there and move where God shows me next...

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