We had the opportunity to watch "Australia" last week. It was a great movie. One of those epic type of movies, but not quite "Gone With The Wind" category. I really liked it. What struck me more than anything else was a line spoken by Nicole Kidman:
Seriously, indulge me for a few moments and allow me to just feel this out a little in one context of the Church. Many who profess to belong to Christ are often seen to be as backstabbing, gossipy and just plain mean as those who do not belong to Christ -- that should not be. We are called to be Salt and Light to the world. How can we be that if we're flinging mud at each other? We are supposed to be united yet many bicker about the differences. I have heard people murmuring against the very shepherds who lead them -- what profit is that to anyone?
Let me be a little clearer. It is okay to disagree. Unity is not uniformity. We are adults and we can agree to disagree on a variety of things. It is also okay to speak out against biblical untruths. However if someone is speaking biblical truth and you do not agree with them, I do not think it is alright to complain about it or them.
Why is it so difficult to live in peace with others? It is the same reason why we are in need of a Saviour -- this world is broken and so are the lives in it. Since change can only come from within, Jesus gives us new hearts to fix our broken lives instead of just a quick patch-and-move-on. The conundrum is we can live the lives we should be living, yet we are still stuck in the broken world that is. The Is and Should Be are currently simultaneous, making for a tension-filled existence.
The good news is that it won't be like this forever. Change will come and Should Be will arrive. The question then becomes: Will you change to meet the Should Be, or will you persist in the Is?
"Just because that is the way it is doesn't mean it should be."What a great expression of everything we see around us. We live in a fallen, broken world -- the system(s), things, relationships, etc. Nothing is as it should be. I shovel out my parking spot on the street and someone else takes it -- that should not be!
Seriously, indulge me for a few moments and allow me to just feel this out a little in one context of the Church. Many who profess to belong to Christ are often seen to be as backstabbing, gossipy and just plain mean as those who do not belong to Christ -- that should not be. We are called to be Salt and Light to the world. How can we be that if we're flinging mud at each other? We are supposed to be united yet many bicker about the differences. I have heard people murmuring against the very shepherds who lead them -- what profit is that to anyone?
Let me be a little clearer. It is okay to disagree. Unity is not uniformity. We are adults and we can agree to disagree on a variety of things. It is also okay to speak out against biblical untruths. However if someone is speaking biblical truth and you do not agree with them, I do not think it is alright to complain about it or them.
Why is it so difficult to live in peace with others? It is the same reason why we are in need of a Saviour -- this world is broken and so are the lives in it. Since change can only come from within, Jesus gives us new hearts to fix our broken lives instead of just a quick patch-and-move-on. The conundrum is we can live the lives we should be living, yet we are still stuck in the broken world that is. The Is and Should Be are currently simultaneous, making for a tension-filled existence.
The good news is that it won't be like this forever. Change will come and Should Be will arrive. The question then becomes: Will you change to meet the Should Be, or will you persist in the Is?
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