twenty-three

Philippians 2:1-4 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

Ephesians 4:1-6 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

(Both verses are NRSV translation)

We scratched the smallest bit of the surface of a discussion on unity and the makeup of the modern Church at small group tonight. Adam, who led, brought in these verses to discuss. As I say, we didn’t actually get into much, but I’ve been thinking about what these verses have to say about unity and grace for our brothers and sisters within the Church. (By Church, I’m talking "catholic", universal, "one body" stuff).

I think the coolest part about what’s being said here is that we are to love our brothers and sisters for who they are. It was brought up that we have to love with "humility and peace" because when we’re all as screwed up as we are, there’s really no other right choice. All of the crap in each of our lives, all of the "doctrinal distinctives" that set us apart are really of no consequence when we realize that we are called to continue to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves."

So often, I seek to find reasons why I’m frustrated with this or that in Christendom. In attempting to widen my view, I actually end up narrowing my focus on all of the people I think are wrong. It seems like the right way to analyze my beliefs, the biblical way to approach points of disparity with my fellow journeyers, is to wrestle with these together in loving community. We need to talk about the places we feel discouraged or disagree, in love, and lift each other up. And in "looking out for each others’ interests," we need to dialog and approach new answers that bring us all closer to each other and to God.

Our quest is to follow Christ. We journey from billions of different points on this earth, in this beautiful consciousness. We know that apart from Christ, nothing matters. I wish I could forget the squabbles more and return to a conversation that helps everyone in the community to come closer to their purpose, living in the Kingdom.

There is a whole lot more in these verses and immensely more in these letters, so to say this tangent is a complete answer to a practical application of this text would be blasphemous. Again, just scratching the surface.

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