My brother’s youngest daughter and her husband stopped for a visit yesterday on their way back to Virginia, their home just a few miles outside our nation’s capitol. Both hold good jobs within that city, the economy, other than gas prices, having not hurt them too much. They were driving a new blue Corvette convertible and spoke of being able to retire next year, wanting to tour the country before perhaps building a home somewhere in the Caribbean Islands. When I mentioned politics at one point, he spoke to me of “one man not being able to be held accountable when our system, itself, provided such checks and balances”. We left it at that. I do love them both. Still, I do admit to wondering how anyone could be so blind to a Democratic-controlled Congress during the last four years having given complete freedom to an abundant misuse of “executive privilege”, no challenge at all exercised in the middle of this mess we’re in. It’s amazing to me just how much we all seem to see only what we want to see, to hear only what we want to hear. For “intelligent” creatures, we live in our own little worlds, oblivious to all until reality affects us in some way. Indeed, I find it no different in the Church. As believers, we, as well, construct our individual perspectives out of Biblical chapter and verse, gathering in faith with those who agree with us in our views... My initial quote here was recently posted on Face Book by my pastor in Pensacola. I love him and his family dearly, but would not hesitate to disagree with him about such thought. One has only to look around to determine that the Word, in the minds of humanity, has divided us, not just into multiple segments of Christianity, but “First and Second Baptist” as well. Christ, however, did not come to create a religion, but to connect us with the Creator; and, in truth, we have the same situation in our sanctuary as we do in D.C.: Unity occurs when men come together in Him, bonded through His Spirit alive and working in us, leading us in our stumble down the road……
Unity seems like a fleeting commodity these days, both in politics and the church. I see small pockets here and there, but so often, not enough...
ReplyDeleteI believe "people are people", Annie, and it is not so serious a thing that we all do not see all things alike. Preachers seem to reference unity, however, as if that means believing the same thing, catching "their" vision and following them blindly wherever they go. To me, Biblical unity means something like a marriage is between a man and a woman. It is a surrender unto each other, a learning to live together in spite of those areas where we disagree, a giving of our will unto His will and finding common ground. I remember praying, when I first got saved "Change her, Lord", then realizing that it worked much better when my words became "Change me". Only in the reality of His presence are we all ever truly made "one" in Him....
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