It feels like I’ve lost track of who i’m supposed to make my enemy.
I’m supposed to oppose the young (darn millennial) or the old (ok boomers). I’m supposed to oppose the vaxx’d (sheeple) or the anti-vaxx’d (science rejectors). I’m supposed to hate the right or the left (both sides tell me the other side are really bad).
I bet you can think of people or even churches that are defined by those divisions i’ve listed above. Pretty soon there won’t be anyone left to not have some issue with… I wonder what they’ll do then.
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Recently at church we studied the book of Jude. One of the ways Jude identifies false or toxic christians is by calling them “grumblers and faultfinders” (v16) and those “people who divide you” (v19).
My goal moving forward is to have no more enemies. Does that mean that we’ll agree on everything or that we’ll always be on the same page? No. Does that mean that everyone will agree with every policy the church follows? Doubtful. But it is an intentional choice to actually believe and follow Jesus when he said “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).
We live in troubled times, but i’d much rather be someone who brings peace rather than someone who lives in the needless pain of division.
Now, someone might say “hey, Adam, aren’t you calling out churches who take a side on the various issues you mentioned? Isn’t that faultfinding?” That’s a great question! I can’t speak for anyone else, but I am choosing to believe that it’s worth the frustration and (sometimes) pain to maintain relationship with everyone I can. It doesn’t always work out, but I am convinced it will be worth it in the long run.
Have questions or feedback about anything I said? Feel free to comment below.
-Pastor Adam