Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Unity

The Body, joined together by the blood of Christ, is called to be focused on the unity of the Gospel. But so often, we get sidetracked … and we end up hurting one another. I know that in our family we make decisions daily (big ones and little ones), based on our faith and our desire to honor God with our lives. But those decisions may play out differently for various families. (Now I am not talking about moral relativism here but I am talking about the fact that the Bible tells all parents to instruct and discipline their children but how parents actually carry out that instruction and discipline may differ from one another. Know what I mean?)

It can get a little tricky when I assume that MY way is the ONLY way. For example, let’s just use the hot-button issue of today, homeschooling. We have decided to homeschool our children. But in that decision, are we saying that homeschooling is the ONLY way to educate or that those who don’t homeschool are wrong or ‘in sin’? I hope that isn’t what our family is communicating though what we say and how we act.

I know families who send their children to public school and families who send their children to private school – and I know that these parents love their children and are seeking to honor God with their lives. But I also see that all of the ‘education camps’ often make assumptions about the other ‘camps.’ This issue is one that is causing division among believers in many churches today. It’s so sad because we are all united by the Gospel and we should be focused on that. We ought to be coming together to serve one another, and our communities, while spreading the Gospel for His glory.

Josh Harris posted a video clip on his blog this past Sunday which is so right-on! He says that “it’s not an education issue, it’s a Gospel issue … there’s only one camp that we’re a part of and that’s the ‘saved by grace’ camp.” Take the time to listen to this clip and be challenged to promote unity among the families you know.

1 comment:

Kim said...

Amen.