Today’s blog will be the first in a series of blogs on this subject. God has laid on my heart to address the great division I see within the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ is not the physical body that He had on this earth. The Body of Christ is the Church – the followers of Christ. The people who call themselves Christians. I can write about this because I am a Christian. I am a part of the Body of Christ.
There appear to be divided camps within the Body of Christ, at least that’s true within the United States. Camps that are poles apart in their beliefs.
People outside of the Christian faith are looking in. Some are mocking us. Others are feeling sorry for us. None of them want to be a part of us!
Oh, there have always been disagreements between the various denominations, and between Protestants and Roman Catholics. The ONE thing that held us altogether under the umbrella of Christian was Jesus Himself. The minutia wasn’t really a big deal: Dunk versus Sprinkle, Grape juice versus Wine, Predestination versus Choice
Regardless of the minor differences, we managed to still embrace our personal beliefs, while respecting opposing beliefs. Unfortunately, that respect has diminished, if not altogether disappeared.
Instead of spreading the Gospel of Christ to the everyone, which is what the Scripture tells us to do, it seems as if the Body of Christ has taken on itself the roll of social barometer to the world. I’m tired of hearing from both camps that you can’t be a Christian if you voted for the candidate that they oppose. I’ve heard this since 1992, and it’s getting really OLD. Not only that, the venom with which it is said today is at an all-time high!
I understand that being passionate about your beliefs can lead to heated discussions, but I’m learning that has NO place in the Body of Christ! When I say this to y’all, I’m also talking to myself. I definitely can’t “cast the first stone,” because I’m NOT without sin. I’m guilty of some very heated comments. We must all stop and take a step back. We must become part of the solution, and not continue to be part of the problem.
Facebook is saturated with negative comments about Biden, Harris, Pence, and Trump. Many of those posts are there because we, as the Body of Christ, have put them there! We should be ashamed! Negative breeds negative: hate breeds hate. Our Heavenly Father is not praised, glorified, or happy when we stoop to such childish and sinful ways.
I realize we all need a place to let off steam; to air our frustrations. It’s healthy; it’s how we stay sane. I’ve found a group of like-minded people with whom I can share my concerns and frustrations. As a group, we get the “venom” out of our systems. By doing this, we then make room for the growth needed to become part of the solution.
Sometimes I wonder if God isn’t using the virtual church services as a time for we Christians to cool down, sort of like a time out. I’m in no way implying God caused COVID so we could cool down. I just know from experience that God makes good things come out of bad when we allow Him to do so.
We as the Body of Christ need to learn how to discuss our beliefs and differences in a civil, loving, and caring way. We need to show those who aren’t Christians, that we know how to get along even as we disagree. It’s not what we know that makes the difference. It’s WHO we know. We ALL know Christ. Christ is our Lord. Otherwise, we aren’t the Body of Christ. He is the key. He is the reason we exist. And He is the only One that can help us mend this great divide.
Psalms 46:10 is a well-known verse. You might have heard the first part of the verse: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. If we read the entire chapter, we learn it has to do with fighting – yes, fighting. The Christian Standard Bible translation of that portion reads: STOP YOUR FIGHTING AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
One of the Hebrew meanings of “be still” is TO BE EMPTY. Don’t you think that’s beautiful? BE EMPTY AND LET ME FILL YOU, says our God.
Today, as you reflect on my thoughts, I hope you’re able to reconcile your beliefs with the teachings of the Scripture, and their meaning to you. In the same breath and moment, I hope you’re able to respect your brothers and sisters in Christ who believe differently than you do.
See you next time…
