Unified. Loving. Accepting. Forgiving. Caring. Humble. Take a moment to dwell on these words, and let them sink in to you. What do they mean? What does it mean to be these things? These are common traits found throughout the new Testament and taught by Jesus Christ. These are attributes that we would (hope to) usually associate with Christians in general, being that they are literally followers of Christ. But the more I read the Bible, study Jesus, attempt to become more like Him so that I may glorify Him with my life, I don't see these attributes among the body of Christ as a whole. I actually see a lot of the opposite.
When I look at the body of Christ, the church, as we call it, I see nothing but diversity. I see group A arguing with group B, both of which who are pointing fingers at group C, while group D scoffs at them all. And all the meanwhile, a world is passing them by seeing this diversity as their only example of Jesus Christ. They see this divisive nature of Christians, our need to bicker, our desire to be the one true denomination. And you know what? They're laughing. And they should be laughing, because we are making a fool of ourselves and a mockery of the name of Jesus Christ.
This personally disgusts me as a Christian for multiple reasons. The first reason is that this is not what Christ taught. This is not what Christ stood for. The Bible does not teach divisiveness, it teaches unity. There are so many denominations out there claiming that if you don't interpret the Bible just like me, you're not a Christian! How very wrong of us. How very against God this attitude is. As if we have decided who and who is not a recipient of God's precious Grace, a free gift from a Perfect God. We as Christians have decided for God has been predestined by slapping labels and judgments on those who are different than us. We think that if someone who claims to be a Christian doesn't dress the same way I feel we should dress, or doesn't talk the same way I'm convicted to talk, then obviously they aren't going to Heaven. How could they? They're DIFFERENT! What a mockery of the Grace of God, and shame on anyone who thinks this way. Let me ask you this, friend who thinks that you and your church body are the only ones destined for heaven: Were you saved by your own merits, or were you chosen by the Grace of God to be the recipient of His love? The Bible clearly explains to us that:
even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:4-6 (ESV)
So how is it that you have now decided that those different than you cannot possibly be Christians? The notion is absurd. It is wrong and divisive. We throw stones at each other because we all believe just a little differently. We have minor differences in our interpretation of the Bible, and guess what? That's OK. Because we aren't saved by our own merits. Only Christ saved us. Stop acting like a special snowflake.
Diversity can coexist with unity amongst Christianity. We all believe a little differently, but what unites us isn't our beliefs, it is the banner of Jesus Christ. What identifies us shouldn't be our denomination, it should be Christ. Despite the fact that we might believe something different, our cornerstone is Jesus Christ, the one thing that unites all clans of the earth. Men and women, blacks and whites, Asians and Iranians, Baptists and Methodist, we are all identified under CHRIST, nothing else, in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.
For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:18-22 (ESV)
But we, as human beings, have decided Gods way isn't good enough. We've built barricades amongst ourselves and decided our way is right, no one else can be, not even God, despite what the scripture says. And this brings me to the second reason why I hate the divisive nature of the Christian body today.
This is what the lost see. This is the glory we give to God? What glory do we give to God when all that people around us from the outside looking in see is arguing, bickering, stone throwing, and mocking? None. That's not to say that there aren't people out there and church bodies who do NOT act this way. There are. But what I see, what the WORLD sees, is what we see on the news, in the media, and at their local church. Division. And it is truly sad.
Our lives are meant to glorify God, our voice meant to sing His praises, and instead our voices judge the righteous and ignore the lost. Our lives are self centered around trying to figure out who is wrong and who is right. There is no glory for God in this, no, we have left God out of the picture entirely and focused the frame on us. What this current age body of Christ needs is a refocus. We need to realize that we are all different, and that is OK. But we serve ONE TRUE GOD, and make our LIVES about that. Holy living isn't sinless living, it's not I'M RIGHT! living, it's CHRIST FOCUSED LIVING. Let's FOCUS on CHRIST!
When I look at the body of Christ, the church, as we call it, I see nothing but diversity. I see group A arguing with group B, both of which who are pointing fingers at group C, while group D scoffs at them all. And all the meanwhile, a world is passing them by seeing this diversity as their only example of Jesus Christ. They see this divisive nature of Christians, our need to bicker, our desire to be the one true denomination. And you know what? They're laughing. And they should be laughing, because we are making a fool of ourselves and a mockery of the name of Jesus Christ.
This personally disgusts me as a Christian for multiple reasons. The first reason is that this is not what Christ taught. This is not what Christ stood for. The Bible does not teach divisiveness, it teaches unity. There are so many denominations out there claiming that if you don't interpret the Bible just like me, you're not a Christian! How very wrong of us. How very against God this attitude is. As if we have decided who and who is not a recipient of God's precious Grace, a free gift from a Perfect God. We as Christians have decided for God has been predestined by slapping labels and judgments on those who are different than us. We think that if someone who claims to be a Christian doesn't dress the same way I feel we should dress, or doesn't talk the same way I'm convicted to talk, then obviously they aren't going to Heaven. How could they? They're DIFFERENT! What a mockery of the Grace of God, and shame on anyone who thinks this way. Let me ask you this, friend who thinks that you and your church body are the only ones destined for heaven: Were you saved by your own merits, or were you chosen by the Grace of God to be the recipient of His love? The Bible clearly explains to us that:
even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:4-6 (ESV)
So how is it that you have now decided that those different than you cannot possibly be Christians? The notion is absurd. It is wrong and divisive. We throw stones at each other because we all believe just a little differently. We have minor differences in our interpretation of the Bible, and guess what? That's OK. Because we aren't saved by our own merits. Only Christ saved us. Stop acting like a special snowflake.
Diversity can coexist with unity amongst Christianity. We all believe a little differently, but what unites us isn't our beliefs, it is the banner of Jesus Christ. What identifies us shouldn't be our denomination, it should be Christ. Despite the fact that we might believe something different, our cornerstone is Jesus Christ, the one thing that unites all clans of the earth. Men and women, blacks and whites, Asians and Iranians, Baptists and Methodist, we are all identified under CHRIST, nothing else, in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.
For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:18-22 (ESV)
But we, as human beings, have decided Gods way isn't good enough. We've built barricades amongst ourselves and decided our way is right, no one else can be, not even God, despite what the scripture says. And this brings me to the second reason why I hate the divisive nature of the Christian body today.
This is what the lost see. This is the glory we give to God? What glory do we give to God when all that people around us from the outside looking in see is arguing, bickering, stone throwing, and mocking? None. That's not to say that there aren't people out there and church bodies who do NOT act this way. There are. But what I see, what the WORLD sees, is what we see on the news, in the media, and at their local church. Division. And it is truly sad.
Our lives are meant to glorify God, our voice meant to sing His praises, and instead our voices judge the righteous and ignore the lost. Our lives are self centered around trying to figure out who is wrong and who is right. There is no glory for God in this, no, we have left God out of the picture entirely and focused the frame on us. What this current age body of Christ needs is a refocus. We need to realize that we are all different, and that is OK. But we serve ONE TRUE GOD, and make our LIVES about that. Holy living isn't sinless living, it's not I'M RIGHT! living, it's CHRIST FOCUSED LIVING. Let's FOCUS on CHRIST!
