I believe the church can be truly revolutionary. It seems we are becoming a people who spend more and more time defining ourselves by our differences. It seems we are in a collective experiment to find the place that is just right for us, where we create a “group” that thinks exactly as we do and will support whatever diatribe we spout this week. We are seeking unity, but the unity we are seeking is in agreement on issues.
Perhaps the revolutionary gospel of Jesus reminds us that our salvation is not based on what we think about Jesus but is literally in Jesus, body and blood, dead and risen, for us and for the sake of the world, not based on merit or strength, but solely as a gift, freely given. Jesus created a community that was formed, not around agreement, but on truly understanding that the gospel saves us despite what we think and do. Perhaps the revolutionary church can do the truly countercultural thing of bringing people together who do not agree on issues, but we agree we all need Jesus.
This message is excerpted from “Finding love when we don’t agree” by Jay Gamelin in the March 2016 Gather magazine.
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