Teapot after teapot after teapot rolls down the conveyor belt, each like the first and the one right after. One design, one plan, one mold for all the teapots sitting side by identical side on the shelf. All shiny, and clean, just like the teapot designer wanted. All the same. All the same. Maybe a different colored flower there, and a slight change of a leaf there, but pretty much the same. Ah, bliss! No aberration, no decisions, just a teapot like all others.
I must confess that if I received one of those teapots, I'd have to paint it or ding it or something to make it different. We thrive on individuality. God made each of us different so it must be part of His plan. He doesn't want His children to be "cookie cutter" Christians. He wants us to chose Him of our own, God-given, free will. And then serve Him with our unique, God-given talents.
Look at the world He created and the variety of His creations! I doubt that He expects us all to be the same and to worship Him the same way. I know I said that I would talk about how Christians should react to the unsaved today, but a few things have come up, and I feel this is a pressing matter. My heart is burdened over a schism among His children, and I want to do what I can to help close it.
Those of you that have read this blog know that I have left big "F" Fundamentalism behind me as part of my journey from guilt to grace. But I have not left Christ or His service. In fact, I feel closer to Him now than any other time in my life. I found that I don't have to be the same as all the other "good" Christians. I don't have to wear the same clothes, I don't have to use the same Bible translation, I don't have to listen to the same music, and I don't have to worship God exactly like anyone else does.
Recently, a Christian university in the northern part of the US made the shift to allow worship style music in their chapels, camps and programs. Some of the dress standards have relaxed-not to the point of immodesty--just more casual. It's a move I applaud. There are no doctrinal compromises. There is no desire to become more worldly. It is a move to bring the the school into the present pushing aside outdated cultural preferences. Yet many pastors and many leaders in other more conservative schools have felt the need to speak out in disagreement with the change.
Why? Will the cause of Christ suffer because a group of people who believe the same Bible and worship the same God changed their worship style? Will Christ be more glorified if we disagree publicly with others who claim His name and serve Him? Will "compromise" send the entire Christian population down a slippery slope into Hell? NO! It will not. God's love and salvation is bigger than all of our disagreements. He deals with individuals. He leads Christians differently, and we have no reason to doubt the leading of the Holy Spirit. And we would be committing blasphemy if we dare to dictate how the Holy Spirit works with anyone other than ourselves.
Will we do more damage to the cause of Christ by separating and criticizing each other over cultural differences? Yes. Most certainly. The only thing worth complete division is a corruption of the Gospel of Christ and the foundational doctrine behind it. That's really it. Seriously. Even then, we are dealing with people who are possibly unsaved, and any division should still be handled with care for their eternal soul. As for separating from those who criticize and and divide the body of Christ, they've already done that for us. But, I stil believe we should uphold them in prayer and let the Lord do His work with them.
We aren't going to be assembly line Christians. We shouldn't be assembly line Christians. God made us individuals and He gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us on how to use our individuality and talents to serve Him. We are handcrafted one of a kind works of art fashioned by our Creator.
Speaking of one of a kind, has anyone seen my cow teapot?
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