THE HEART OF THE MATTER

1 Corinthians 10-18
II Kings 10:15-16

Jehu met Jehonadab and asked him, “Are we one the same page?  I believe we are of the same mind, here?  What do you say?  If so, take my hand and come with me, and out of our mutual commitment to God, do what we know is right.”

One thing I have learned through almost six decades of living and thirty-two years of marriage is that, even just between two people, it can be hard to agree when it comes to our personal tastes and opinions.

For example:  What do you think is the best flavor of ice cream?  Is it vanilla?  Chocolate?  Strawberry?  Or is the best flavor something else?

Now, if we choose to focus on our differences, each claiming that we are right in the matter, we would form four different cliques or factions.  We would be in contention and forget what unifies us – ice cream.

That’s what was happening in Corinth.  The Christian community had fractured along the lines of who people thought was the best teacher, the one to follow and the one to be baptized by.  The Corinthian church was divided by opinions, opinions that people wanted to impose upon each other.  Worst of all, these opinions were displacing the message of the cross as the basis of their Christian faith, that we are saved by grace through the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

It still happens today.  The focus on our differences as believers causes divisions between different denominations and within our own churches. 
We differ in our opinions about our modes of worship, the hymns we sing the type of music we like, and there have even been heated debates over what color the carpet should be in the sanctuary.  

There are different ways of serving Holy Communion and how and when someone is baptized, as well as what is considered a sacrament.  We may differ in the language we use to describe our theology or the liturgy that guides our worship. 

In my life, I’ve attend worship at Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, a couple of flavors of Pentecostal and non-denominational, Disciples of Christ, and Quaker churches.  My spiritual growth has been enhanced by all of them, but I’m drawn to the United Methodist Church, and it’s been with that denomination that I’ve stayed.  I’ve stayed because the practice of Methodism helps me connect to God through Christ in a very real and meaningful way.

This, however, doesn’t give me the right to judge other Christian denominations as wrong or in error.

St. Augustine said it best:  In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; and in all things charity.

In essentials, unity:  focusing on the beliefs at the heart of our faith that bring us together through Christ.

In non-essentials, liberty:  accepting and respecting the differences in our faith traditions or personal walks with Christ.

In all things, charity:  without distinction between friends and enemies, love each other as Christ has loved us all.

Christ and Christ’s teachings are the heart of our beliefs as Christians.  Through Christ’s life and teachings, God has revealed God’s Trinitarian nature, which we confess through the Apostles’ Creed.

Christ taught us to love, to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strengths.  We are called to be obedient and to serve the mission of God and the ministry of Christ.  We also love God through worship, prayer, Bible study and participation in the sacraments.

Christ commanded that we love one another and our neighbors as Christ has loved us.  We are not to hold on to Christ’s love selfishly but share it with all through kind words and self-less acts of compassion, mercy, justice and service to all. 

We don’t have to agree with one another to share Christ’s love with each other.

What’s at the heart of our faith?  Is it judgmental opinions that divide us into cliques and factions that create contention among us?  Or is it the message of the cross that unites us as one in Christ around the essential beliefs of the universal Christian faith?

So, my Christian friends, are we on the same page?  Are we of the same mind in Christ?  If so, let us join hands and stand united in the essential beliefs we all share, practice acceptance of our differences and in all things, love one another as Christ loves us.

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