Wandering Crusader #288 One With Christ

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

C.S. Lewis called Christianity a fighting religion. He based that assertion on the idea that Christians are open to the truth from any source, but wherever it departs from Christ, we are right and they are wrong. This is not at odds with the scripture above.

Why then are there so many different Christian churches, each claiming to teach the way of God in truth? It must first be understood that unity, as Christians use the word, relates to our being joined to Christ. Christ is The Way. He is not the way to God; He is God. He has told us how to live in a right relationship with Him. As flesh and blood, He has demonstrated what He taught and empowered us to live His example. That is the elemental doctrine of Christianity. All Christians believe it.

In the face of modern claims that deny a Christian founding, our Declaration of Independence states that all men are endowed by their Creator with an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A unique life, lived with the liberty to choose how we will pursue that which makes us happy, is exactly what Christ offers all who receive Him. That is Christianity.

Why should it seem strange that men do not all pursue Him in exactly the same fashion? Christianity is not a uniform mass of cookie-cutter people. It is the opportunity to truly be individuals, each one shaped under the guidance of the Holy Spirit by the hand of God.

We do not all do that in the same way, to the same degree, or for the same reasons. What we do, one and all, is surrender to Him and His Lordship. We do so to belong to Him and be like Him. That is the desire that unites Christians, no matter what name the church they attend calls itself. The unity of the Spirit is the singular desire to be like Christ, to love God with everything we are and everything we have, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We fail; we are not perfect. When that happens, His grace grants us forgiveness, and we go back to face our failure another day until we overcome.

Making accommodations to be liked, to attract followers, or to fit in with society is contrary to Christ. He did none of those things. When we do them, we are not adapting to the times, or simply differing from one another; we are denying Him. We are offering the world something Christ did not. Christ without the surrender that makes us one with Him.  

Maranatha