"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many."
(1 Corinthians 12:12-14)
I had the pleasure of attending a conference in Orlando, Florida last weekend, where I gathered with hundreds of other Christian brothers and sisters for several days of worship, workshops and fellowship. The culmination of the weekend was the Sunday morning worship service. While I am not a big fan of liturgical worship, it was a very beautiful service nonetheless. One of the most touching moments was when it came time for communion. There were two officiants, an Anglican priest and a Roman Catholic priest. The fact that these two brothers in Christ were able to set aside any doctrinal differences and serve side by side at the Lord's table spoke volumes about how we truly are all members of one body. In attendance were people from every walk of life and from a multitude of faith traditions (or none at all), and for a brief period of time, we were all able to worship together without labels or artificial lines of separation. I kept thinking to myself that this is truly what the Church is supposed to look like.
The theme of the conference this year was "Ambassadors of Reconciliation", based on 2 Corinthians 5:18-20:
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God."
Ironically, even as we were all worshiping together as one body, a storm was brewing regarding a controversial event that had occurred earlier in the conference. Battle lines had been drawn, and the very people who are supposed to be ambassadors of reconciliation were now embroiled in a spiritual tug-of-war to see which side of the aisle would prevail. Unity and reconciliation were nowhere to be found, although many involved attempted to quell the rumors and vitriol. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised (we are, after all, sinners saved by grace), but it was rather disconcerting to see so many people withhold grace and forgiveness from their fellow believers and hold on to their offenses like a badge of honor.
When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He included the phrase "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." He also taught the parable about the unmerciful servant who, after being forgiven for a massive debt he could never repay, went out and demanded payment from his fellow servants for the pittances they owed him. Jesus made it clear that the servant's fate for being so unforgiving was less than favorable. I admit that I sometimes struggle with a spirit of unforgiveness toward those who have wronged me. But God gently reminds me how much I have been forgiven, and somehow it becomes easier to overlook the offenses committed by others.
As long as infighting and quarreling persist within the Church, we render ourselves ineffective as ambassadors of reconciliation between God and the world. When people outside of Christianity see us devouring each other and withholding grace and forgiveness, they smell the stench of death rather than the sweet aroma of abundant life. Christians should be the most pleasant, loving and joyful people on the planet, but that is not how we usually appear to those outside of the Church. My prayer is that we all learn how to love each other in spite of our differences so that we can fully function as the one body of Christ in the world. Then, and only then, will we make Christ so attractive to others that they will beg us to share the Good News with them.
Have a blessed week!
Pastor David
