Conservatives, liberals, moderates--unity is needed!

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians--you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Conservatives. Moderates. Liberals. Our world seems to be polarized into competing groups. Our political arena is polarized, and as a result time is wasted in squabbling that could instead be used to improve conditions in our country and abroad.

Even more tragically, we have allowed polarization to infect the Church. Every church body, it seems, is divided into competing groups that squabble with each other about how the work of Jesus should be done. This infighting results in hurt feelings and wasted resources; it draws attention away from ministering to the needs of a world confused by sin and dominated by Satan.

The problem, of course, is that sin infects us all. Christians are just as tempted to form cliques as unbelievers. Christians are just as tempted to acts of pride and arrogance as are people of other faiths. Christians are just as tempted to selfishly insist on getting their own way as everybody else. In Romans chapter 7 Paul speaks of the daily struggle every Christian goes through, trying to resist the evil impulses that rot us from within.

Our only hope for things to get better comes to us through Christ. Jesus is our example—the Son of God insisted that God be respected and obeyed in all ways and at all times, yet He showed mercy to everyone who humbly admitted their failures and gave them the new start they so desperately desired. Jesus is our Savior—knowing that we could never be the perfect people God expects, He lived a holy life on our behalf and suffered the punishment for evil that our misspent lives had earned us. Jesus is our Helper—He lives in us through faith and helps us exchange arrogance for humility, trade unforgiving hearts for ones that reach out to others with mercy and love.

Conservatives. Moderates. Liberals. These labels do not unite us, they divide us. Instead of dividing people into groups, let us instead consider how God wants us to live together as we follow His Son. He wants us to honor the Word of God as pure and holy, an unchanging truth that offers the only stability in a world made chaotic by sin. He wants us to be flexible in how we take this unchanging truth and introduce it to people who have no knowledge of Jesus. He wants us to do this work with passion and courage, knowing that He will bless our efforts and forgive our mistakes.