Variance and Unity

It's always disappointing to be reminded how much I'm at variance with other Christians. It's humbling, and forces me to go back over why I believe what I believe. I'm sure both are part of God's working His purpose.

It feels awful. You like to think you're at one with the other Christians you love and worship with. The Psalmist puts it well:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head... (Psalm 133:1, 2a)

Enjoying unity is God's anointing, a blessing. And it wasn't even an operational desire in my life before Jesus. In fact, disagreement had something of pride in it. Disagreeing with a friend, my carnal man could simply say, "Screw you, I'll go my own way." Knowing who Jesus is and what it means to be His Body doesn't allow me that attitude.

Disagreement now is part of keeping my spirit humble. If I'm at variance with other believers, there's always the possibility they may be right. That keeps me checking my leading: this week's disagreement with a church committee made me again re-check operative ideas I've always found rock-solid. Tested again, they still are. I'll continue to operate on them.

When it happens, being in agreement with other believers is a blessing from God. But ultimately, settled peace doesn't come from that: like unity, peace is God's gift, and He gives it to those who do His will. My first rock-solid belief is it's God will our every attitude, idea, thought, word and action be grounded on what He says, in the Bible and in the Spirit.

None of my friends, or any other believing Christian, would say otherwise. Yet millions in the American Church, including most of my friends, have bought the idea that being a Christian means being "conservative." None of those friends, challenged to show a scriptural basis for their belief, have been able to do so. Nor can I. I'm satisfied it's an unscriptural, indeed unChristian, idea.

The supposed equivalence "conservative" is, moreover, a formulation of a temporal human kingdom and society. No wonder that the deeds which grow from that unscriptural operative idea are "deeds of the flesh:" "...enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions..." (Galatians 5:20). Jesus proclaimed and lived the Kingdom of God. So should Christians.

I can't help longing for unity, and feeling frustrated when it tarries. There's always the temptation to grasp at it by agreeing with other believers, or simply keeping my disagreements to myself. But unity doesn't come by believers' agreement with each other: we are one in the Spirit, agreed together in hearing and doing God's will, or not at all.

I'm told my attitude is arrogant. I think rather that arrogance would deny unity altogether and say, "Screw you, I'll go my own way." Arrogance would feel no need to re-check its thinking, and certainly not against anything greater than its own opinions. Is it arrogant to hear God speak, when He commands we do so and promises He will ?

I'm sure my friends, and all the millions of American evangelicals who've bought the false idea that Christianity is "conservative," would agree that our faith must be grounded on what God says. My hope is that they will act on their belief and examine that idea against scripture. My perfect hope is that the Church in America will cast off its filthy political rags and do the work of Him Who sent us to this feeble, poor, lost and diseased country.

God forgive us !!