Building On Jesus
You and I will disagree.
Most people think this is a problem. I disagree.
First of all, I disagree with myself sometimes. You may think that’s impossible, but as a growing human being, I change my mind sometimes. I think that’s healthy.
Other times, Future Me disagrees with Present Me. Or, sometimes Present Me disagrees with Past Me. So if I argue with myself, I’m bound to disagree with a completely different human being from time to time.
The question isn’t whether we disagree. The question is what we do with the disagreement.
Some disagreement comes from one or more of us not being submitted to Jesus. The fix for that is for both of us to submit to Christ in whatever area.
But a lot of disagreements come from the fact that we’re human. We’ll approach things differently. It’s bound to happen. In those places, the fix is for us to accept one another as Christ has accepted us. Remember: God has accepted Communists, Trump supporters, terrorists, homosexuals, and housewives when they’ve repented and turned to Jesus. His very first disciples contained a tax collector and a zealot who wanted to overthrow the Romans because of taxation!
The point is that Christ calls men and women from different backgrounds. He also calls us to accept believers who agree with us on Jesus but disagree with us on other issues. This requires us to sacrifice and put others before ourselves. The only way a body can continue in this very diverse situation is if the unity that they have is in Jesus.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:11
And if you and I disagree about something, even about spiritual matters, but we are both following the real Jesus and seeking to understand and obey the Bible, then I can put up with you disagreeing with me. I hope you can put up with me disagreeing with you.
I write these words about you and me. But if you’ve been paying attention, they’re not just about you and me. They’re about how much we are all willing to lay down our lives in order to build the body of Christ on its one foundation—Jesus.
5 responses to “Building On Jesus”
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- - May 6, 2017
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Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 
Reblogged this on Pursuing Glory and commented:
Every once in awhile I think this is incredibly important to revisit. You and I will not always agree. What we do from there is very important.
Amen.
Yes
Travis: I think this is one of the most important aspects of why house church is so important. God designed the church as a group of people who walk together and really get to know each other. I prefer to be surrounded by people who agree with me, but, the truth is, I am not capable of comprehending the full counsel of God, and, as a human, I am not capable of creating a system of doctrine that adequately reflects God, his truth and his love. I need godly people who disagree with me, but I need deep relationships with them to really be able to get past my pride in my “knowledge”. If someone disagrees with me and he is just another face in another pew, or goes to another church, I can easily ignore his disagreements, or treat them as his failure to really understand the Bible, or just characterize him as one of those weirdos at the church across town. But, if I have been in his house, eating with him, and seeing Jesus in how he lives every day, served alongside of him, and if I know that he will lay down his life for me, it is harder for me to just dismiss his theology or politics. Instead, if I take him seriously, I will be forced to listen to his ideas seriously. And, most likely, I will be enriched in my knowledge of God. I am not saying that we can learn from every crazy idea from every person we meet. But, if you really get to know a person, and his life reflects Jesus, chances are his theology does too. Gunnar.