Two Camps Divided

This is something I have been working on for a while. I know that I am going to be generalizing to some extent, but I have a concept stuck in my head that gets shattered when we talk about individuals and not groups. Individuals are just that individual and not easily put into one group. Yet, when I look at things from a distance I can see the divisions clearly.

Predominately I can see two camps in the Christian community; one is so busy trying to ensure the integrity of the gospel that they have lost their first love, the other is almost reactionary to the first group in that they have focused so much on G_d’s love and acceptance they have forgotten that He is also a just G_d and cannot abide sin. These two groups are so busy fighting each other that those who can be reached with the pure loving Gospel of Yeshua are lost in the crossfire. The more I wonder about how these two groups can be reconciled the more I wonder if it is even possible. Neither is willing to bend from their position. They have their hand picked favorite verses from the Word and will stick to them as if it meant life or death. I think this is the single most frustrating thing about my calling. Sometimes I think that it would be easier if I concentrated on bringing my message to the lost and letting the camps struggle and fight it out with each other, but I know my calling is to all people in hopes that their eyes will be opened.

How can I show these two vastly different ideological camps can learn to work as one? When they can let go of the petty squabbles and mesh; they can show Yeshua’s love, glory, and power more effectively. Can we not see that though G_d is just and cannot abide the imperfection that sin brings, including those sins that would corrupt His message, He loves us so much that He would do whatever it takes to bring us back to Him? While the solution is not simple we must come to an understanding that going to extremes to protect a point of view will only drive people away. Those that wish to condemn anything that is not specifically in the Word such as the style of music one listens to, or the exact style of your clothes need to understand that a legalistic approach will only drive people away from His love. Those who wish to ignore unrepentant sin under the guise of His love and grace being enough to cover that sin open us up to dangerous heresies such as universalism and need to be aware that the Word is clear that we are not to abide in sin.

This is where I came to an epiphany of sorts. I am not supposed to be fighting ideology with ideology. I am not even supposed to be “fighting” any one said group. That is not my job. If I tried “fighting” I will lose. This is exactly what is going on between the different camps. All I have to do is present the truth of Yeshua’s Holy, complete, furious yet gentle love for us; the rest is up to Him. He will cajole, woo, draw near those who open their hearts and listen. That is all any of us have to do. It is not our message it is His. We just get the privilege of being the “tool” He uses to get that message out.