An angelic choir ushered Jesus into this world by singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” God still has goodwill for us and peace is still his eternal promise in Christ but quite frankly we don’t really see much peace on earth and goodwill among men is a pleasant surprise more than the norm in everyday life. In fact, the world seems to be growing more violent and I see less civility than I ever remember in my lifetime.
I know I now qualify for the senior omelet at the International House of Pancakes (I am not crazy about the omelet but it took me this long to earn it so by golly I am going to order it) but I miss the days when one could go to a store or order a sandwich and receive a courteous response at a regular practice. Gone also are the days when one could simply click a turn signal and the person in the car behind would slow, smile and wave you into the lane you needed. You might get a wave but it will be a less than friendly gesture. Well, when we get tired of rude treatment and the conflict of the world we can always go to church and find peace on earth and goodwill toward men…
Would that statement were always true, but we also seem to find reasons to differ in the body of Christ. At times the attitudes of conflict in the church rival those outside the church. We often can find more things to divide us than most groups I know. I am aware of actual church arguments over colors of carpet, storage closets and brands of toilet paper. While we may acknowledge and agree (when we are not arguing about those items) that arguing over those items are silly we often carry matters too far when we divide over scripture. Hear me carefully; proper interpretation of scripture is vital! Eternal destiny hangs in the balance. However, we must never let some of these matters divide us as we often do. There are obvious matters of scripture that are beyond debate such as the deity of Christ and salvation through his atoning grace, etc.
However, there are scriptures that God seemed to leave intentionally open to dialogue. Perhaps, he did this to allow us to draw together in our discussion and discernment and grow our faith as well as our love for one another as we work out these few verses in unity and harmony not letting them divide us. Sometimes our opinions change as we grow and learn. I even find disagreement with some of my own earlier writings as I have grown in my walk with my Lord, but I am still on speaking terms with the author.
In most card games there is a trump card that beats all others. Jesus gave a ‘trump’ for all interpretations, situations and other commandments when he was asked, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22: 36-40) When we let love become the determining factor in all our actions we may see the promise of peace and goodwill among men fulfilled after all!
