Our Broken Family

We are currently the most divided faith group on earth, and there isn’t a close second. If you think I’m exaggerating, name another religion with more than two or three factions. We have thousands of denominations and ministries, each believing their theology or methodology is superior. 

The saddest part of this is that our Savior was crucified to end our divisions, commands us to be united, and says we will impact the world when we become one.

We can’t just go back to our various circles and continue our discussions about how deceived our brothers and sisters are. It’s time to try something different. 

What if we each made it our goal to strive for a level of humility we’ve never had? We could spend our circle time on our knees crying out to the God of truth, begging Him to expose any pride or deception that has crept into our own lives.

We need to stop thinking that our primary duty toward our fellow believers is to critique them. It’s not. Our primary duty is to love them. Paul says we owe a debt of love to each other (Rom. 13:8). Yet it seems we invest far more time in learning than loving. 

Honestly evaluate the amount of time you spend acquiring information compared to the amount of time you spend asking God to increase your love for His children.

We have been treating our divisions like our national debt. It worsens every minute, but it doesn’t affect our daily lives so we don’t feel an urgency to change it. That’s at the root of the problem: we can’t stop thinking about ourselves. We have forgotten how our divisions affect God and an unbelieving world. 

Our casual, dismissive attitude toward unity is incredibly dangerous for three reasons: 

1. God is disgusted with it. 

2. The world is confused by it. 

3. It could be evidence that the Holy Spirit is not in us.