"One of you says, 'I follow Paul' another 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas'; still another, 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (1Corinthians 1.12b-13)
As I read this Scripture this morning, I was overwhelmed with the fracturing of Christ's body, the Church. (By that, I mean the whole Church Universal, not just the local church). It seems we spend so much time arguing about non-essentials. It seems we are constantly looking for things that we disagree on rather than the Christ who is supposed to unify us all.
By this, I do not mean to minimize our real differences. I believe that different Christians do have the right and obligation to live out their faith according to their convictions, convictions that must be shaped and disciplined by the Word of God (the Bible). Indeed, this is part of the freedom we have in Christ. But I wonder if we go too far. I believe that not recognizing each others' baptism and not welcoming each other to the Lord's Table is going too far. I believe that spending a lot of time putting down other Christian denominations is not what Christ would call us to do. There is no getting around the fact that our brokenness as the Church Universal is a witness against (not for) the Christian faith.
What might you do this day to further the cause of Christian unity?
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