In Christ We Are One
I enjoyed our weekly men’s prayer breakfast this morning with “the old guys.” I’m the youngster at sixty-five. Belonging to this little Methodist church in Pensacola has been a source of encouragement to Sherri and me. Yes, we are still Baptist, but as I often said in Seoul, the goal of all Christians is to be larger than their particular denomination or Christian tradition. Bigger than Baptist is what I used to say about Seoul International Baptist Church.
And we were!
Approximately twenty-five nationalities and multiple denominations were a part of our fellowship. We were less interested in official membership and more concerned with growing disciples of Jesus from whatever Christian faith tradition they hailed. In this way, we sought to fulfill the words of Jesus in John 17:23 - “that they may be one as we are one - I in them and you in me - so that they may be brought into complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me.”
The differences between those who are committed to following Jesus as Lord are not near as great as some would make them out to be. Jesus once rebuked his disciples for telling a man casting out demons in His name to stop doing so. “He who is not against us is for us,” he told them.
And so it is in the body of Christ. Different streams but all flowing into the same ocean of God’s love and grace experienced through Christ Jesus. Those who faith rests on dotting the correct doctrinal i’s and crossing the appropriate doctrinal t’s are majoring on the minors. And depending on their attitude towards those brothers and sisters who believe differently from them, they could be hindering the unity of the church for which Jesus prayed, effectively stunting the growth of God’s kingdom among us.
We are called to be peacemakers, loving God and loving others, and fulfilling the Royal Law. This is what set the Christians of the first several centuries of the church apart. It’s what brought about their persecution, but it is also what brought so many people to faith in Jesus.
I’m leaving a great fellowship in our little Methodist church here in Pensacola. And I will carry them in my heart for the rest of my days until we meet again in the fulness of God’s kingdom. For that, and for the spiritual growth I’ve experienced in these last few years, I am forever grateful to God.
In Christ,
Dan
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