The Struggle
"I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and there there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment." I Corinthians 1:10 RSV
Paul goes on to write about the divisions between the church at Corinth. Affiliations were declared - "I am of Paul, I am of Cephas" - and so forth. We have inherited these divisions, and by feeding our divisions, we have kept them alive to this day.
I am a Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist and the list is long. Every division believes that they are the key to the kingdom, but I tell you that if we are divided - we have lost. And, what have we lost?
We have lost a united front against Satan.
We have lost our peace.
We have lost our validity before the world of lost souls.
We have lost our wisdom.
We have lost our momentum.
We have lost our spiritual stamina.
Paul goes onto say "When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." I Corinthians 2:1-2 RSV.
To whom do we belong? We belong to the one who called us. In the beginning sentence of I Corinthians, Paul identifies himself as being 'called' by the will of God. He then identifies the congregation at Corinth in the same way, "To the church of God which is at Corinth to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.."
We all belong to God through his son, Jesus. This is our only claim to salvation. God made it so simple - it is only man who complicates the process of salvation.
The Warning: "For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever, I will thwart." I Corinthians 2:19 RSV
posted by Hepzibah The Watchman | 7:13 AM
8 Comments:
Annie:
Just wanted you to know that I enjoy reading what you write here. Division is the main weakness that Christians have; unfortunately, it is the focal point of non-believers' attacks, and that is not likely to change until the Church manages to unite itself.
Tom
Annie:
Good thoughts. I appreciate your writing. One questions I've come to enjoy thinking and struggling with is.. "Can we learn to enjoy the differences instead of fighting over them?" "Can we celebrate the things that make us unique and still be united?" I wonder if we could would that make the world understand or appreciate the Church. Don't know. But it's gonna be fun trying to find out...
Jeff
i like ur blog annie...i believe the problems arnd the world are due the fact tht ppl's faith in god has weakened .....tc
Thank you for visiting my blog. You have a lot of great insight on life. I agree with a lot of things that you have writtten in your blog. But, some I will have to disagree with. I don't want you to be offended. Just take it as constructive critisism.
I only follow ONE God. God the father, the creator. I don't believe in the trinity, nor do I believe that Jesus (Yashua or Isa') is or was the son of God. He was only a man who had a devine birth. He was the WORD of God. Also, I do believe that God had and has a devine objective(s) with Yashua, so he took him back up to heaven, so that he may come back to unify mankind in a time of chaos. You have to understand that a lot of things in the Holy Scriptures have been tampered with or changed. So, you have to be the judge or the interpretor on what you believe or disbelieve. You have to meditate on the passages of the Scriptures day and night in order to judge truth from falsehood. i am not claiming that I have the truth, but I will say that I am seeking it. May God help me and have mercy on me if I am wrong.
Thank you for your beautiful comment on my blog. And yes, I have seen Forrest Gump.
Dear Thomas
Thank you for visiting my blog and your insightful comment. May God bless you indeed.
Dear Jeff
I hear what you are saying, and I do pray for unity in the church. Although we many understand our differences, it is probably not the best witness to an unbelieving world.
Dear Jackal
Yes, at times our faith does flow like the tides. Sometimes the tide is in, sometimes the tide is out. But just as the apostles asked for an increase in faith, we can ask God to increase our faith, as well.
Dear I Am
No offense taken. Thank you for your comments and for visiting my blog. I pray that God will bless you indeed.
Post a Comment
<< Home