Scripture Reference: Isaiah 11:1-9; Ephesians 3:1-13

There is no group within the Christian community who has the corner either on God or on truth. Today is a good day to remember that. Christians all over are considering our common calling and the mutual responsibilities we share. No one Christian group has it together so astoundingly more than any other. The different groups rightly have differing practices and theological emphases. The right group for you is the one in which a particular mix of practices and doctrinal concerns are most meaningful to you, make the most sense to you, and help you the most with celebrating the reality of the living God.

Your group, my group, or our group is not “better” or more important than another. I think one of the great sins of Christians in the modern world is our tendency toward separatism and elitism about our own little brand of the faith. By focusing so much on our theological position and its correctness over all the others, we have wasted an enormous amount of energy which has kept us from doing the deeds commanded of all Christians, matters which are commanded of us by God and are nonnegotiable, and nonrelated to a particular denomination. There is so much absolute clarity about matters of ministry and witness that there is more than we can keep up with; arrogance and infighting among Christian groups over what isn’t clear or necessary to faith-expression is despicable and an absolute insult to the one God for all people.

Rather than spending time trying to determine who’s right and who’s wrong or who’s more right than any other group, we should be moving without delay to do the work clearly set out for all of God’s people, to help make this world the place the prophet Isaiah envisioned. He spoke of a time when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). Let that be what we, with all our sisters and brothers in Christ all over the world, work toward.

As we recommit ourselves to the tasks God has given us to do, we pause to give thanks also for our sisters and brothers in every expression of the Christian faith and all women and men in this world who join with us in naming Jesus Christ as Lord. We need each other.

We won’t all agree on all the details and fine points of faith expression, and we do not need to. There will even continue to be major differences in our concerns and how we express our faith. Why should that be a problem? These people are like us, simply fortunate and blessed to have found an entry into the Christian family. We are not the leaders or even first among equals. Jesus Christ is the head of the family, and through Him we find our way, as do all the others, to the blessings of God. We all quickly find also that this family is a working family. When we come to grips with the reality that God truly is the one God for all people, even for all Christians, there’s more to do than all of us can accomplish with our very best efforts! Let’s make sure to go forth in the assurance of God’s presence with us when we serve the Lord and with the knowledge that there is more support and love in the family in Christ than we have ever taken the time to see.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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