Unity

Last Wednesday night we drove down to visit some beloved friends in Marietta, Georgia. We really enjoyed our time together and it was so nice to spend a few days catching up, while our seven kids (combined) played hard! We spent Easter attending the church that our friend is now on staff at, and went out for a yummy dinner. The message was really good and the service was amazing.

Their church is huge and there is a full orchestra and choir and drama team that were all involved throughout the service. The church is very well established and seems to have been around for quite a while. We are attending a totally different type of church at the present time where you are out of place if you don't have on your blue jeans and if you don't like loud rock music, you probably wouldn't care for our place of worship. So the two churches are almost as opposite as can be, yet they both preach the same gospel.

Isn't it crazy how like churches, we, as believers in Christ can be so different from one another, yet worship the same God? From our choices in clothing and the way we decorate to the way we discipline our kids and our political views. From differing opinions on interpretation of scripture, (eternal security, the tribulation, speaking in tongues, etc) to varying denominations.

So much of the time, I want everyone to think just like me. I have a hard time accepting people's views on certain issues if their views differ too much from mine and what I think is biblical or whatever. I am not talking about the essentials, here. (The Apostle's Creed is my favorite statement of belief on that matter). I am talking about non-essentials and staying united in Christ with one another even though we don't agree completely with one another on every single stinking issue!! Wherever there is division, I believe, gives Satan a foothold. So tonight, I just wanted to get that off of my chest and hopefully, into my heart.

"In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity (or love)"
St. Augustine