towards reconciliation on all fronts

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

i've been known to react quite loudly to acts by others that i find ridiculous, especially when they are committed in the name of Jesus and are made to speak for the Church. however, i've lately felt a consistent, gentle strain within me to find reconciliation with those that i differ so much with, who also share the identity of "follower of Jesus".

a lot of us have been burned by either fundamentalist or very sectarian ways of thinking in the churches we grew up in. and for many, the process of deconstructing and discarding those harmful ways of life is still continuing. however, as much as i've grown tired of churches in general, the fact is that the only way back towards following Jesus together is for us to start finding common ground with all those on the road. initially, this seems like a difficult, if not impossible proposition. as we've been discussing in an earlier post, the way in which we treat Scripture seems to drastically affect our faith, and so how can we begin to find common ground when there's so much disagreement on those fundamental issues? the solution, as least as far as i can see in my limited view, is to do as best we can, and not give in to legalities.

behind every theological argument we have with another person, there still exists a very human, emotional connection. the quality of this connection is largely lost in the blogosphere, so i'm really talking about personal interactions here. this connection we share with other humans is very real, and exists despite whatever intellectual differences you hold with someone else. when we find ourselves in these situations, or even in "milder" situations where the talk isn't so heated, but the tension still exists (even if it's just in your own mind), we have to make concerted efforts to overcome the emotional control that these things hold on us, and always remember to treat our brothers and sisters with the utmost love, compassion and humility. this can be very, very hard, especially if this means they get the last word, or you look bad. but i am convinced that, given Jesus' ultimate example in the giving of his life, it is the only option if we are to really follow Jesus and walk as he did.

now, the simple fact is that when i say something like that, it's quickly going to come to mind an instance where this might not be right. but i can't account for those, and neither does any theology. following is a way of life, not a set of rules; it's more important to foster a way of being, rather than an intellectual toolkit. when we give ourselves over to disputes, i think we're giving part of ourselves away that we don't need to. it becomes a distraction, while not being relevant to our relationship with God. this happens on all sides of the spectrum (the right & abortion, the left and social justice, the middle and their gripes about the right and left not getting it right). the fact is, as gentry alluded to, it seems much better to talk about what's right with us, rather than what's wrong. not that there's not a place for working through our issues. it's just that our issues usually get worked out, and it's the working out that sticks with us forever (kinda like darwin). the things we learn to do right are the things that make the biggest difference in the world.

so, as we continue to deal with others of the same name, but different cultures, may the peace of Christ rest on our hearts, that we may stop yelling at each other...