Making Christian Unity Personal and Real

About a year ago I wrote a series of blog posts about the bases for Christian unity. Understanding Christian unity intellectually is important, but not an end in itself. But it is an important step. Truth needs to travel that 12 inches from the head to the heart, and then those several feet from the heart to the hands and feet. More simply, it needs to be made real, active.

So, how to discern a real believer from a "Garage Christian" (a person who is like a man standing in a garage claiming to be a car)? A caveat is important at this point. No human can truly and completely know another human's heart. So any conviction I might have about whether or not another person is a believer must be qualified by my acknowledgement that, "I might be wrong."

I can listen to what a person says. I can see what a person does. So if some one tells me that they believe in Jesus as their Savior, with apparent understanding of what that means, I tend to believe them. And I consider what I know of their manner of life, whether it is consistent with their profession of faith (keeping in mind that every Christian is a work in progress). If the understanding and consistency are there, I view that person as my brother or sister in Christ. I'm open to fellowship with that person, to working with them in ministry, as appropriate with what is being done.

In terms of real interactions with real people, this can (and has) challenged my prejudices. For example, I disagree with many teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. The disagreements are, in my understanding of Scripture, real and substantial. At the same time, my interactions with Catholics have forced two conclusions on me - things I would have acknowledged intellectually, but which became real through those interactions. First, there are are true believers - my brothers and sisters in Christ - among Catholics. Second, a believer is a believer, regardless of the sign in front of the building where that person goes on Sunday morning. I know, really profound! Fellow believers deserve my recognition, fellowship and aid in ministry - as those are appropriate. There are no second-class or junior believers. Obviously, there are areas where we would disagree, areas of fellowship and ministry where I could not participate (nor they with me). But that is NOT an excuse for avoiding that brother or sister!

I know, it's tough! I might have to (eek!) think. I might have to understand and be able to express what I believe. I might have to learn from that fellow believer. And by recognizing, fellowshiping and aiding, I may be forcing similar experiences on that fellow believer. Welcome to the Body of Christ! Doing it is much harder than reading about it. That's why we need Christ and the Holy Spirit living and working in us!