Who have you been listening to lately? I try to remain informed about current events by listening to a variety of news and media outlets every day. Claims are made by the various news organizations that they are balanced, even objective in their approach to reporting the news, but sometimes it is difficult to identify the difference between fact and opinion. Truth be told, that challenge is true in many areas of life, including our spiritual journey. Ask a group of Baptists their opinions on a particular subject and you are liable to get quite a few different responses. One of the great principles of our Baptist heritage is the autonomy of the soul, celebrating the freedom of the individual to seek and be led by the Spirit of God. This soul competency speaks to the accountability of each person, and as a gift from God, is not to be forfeited to or held captive by the viewpoints or interpretations of others. To do so is to ultimately take one's eyes off of Christ, chasing after things that are not of eternal significance. For the follower of Christ, it is Christ first, last, and always...finding there grace, mercy, love, and salvation. We find ourselves at times debating a great many things, however, that which unites us is not our different ideological, political, or even theological viewpoints...that which unites is Christ.
As the words of a beautiful hymn encourage:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.
The varied opinions we encounter often confuse and confound...one moment speaking with certainty, the next with ambiguity. Focusing our attention on Christ helps keep other things in their proper perspective.
Jim Abernathy
Well said. But at the same time, focusing on Jesus should lead us to ask ourselves, which Jesus? I’m afraid that there are many out there being presented by others to us as Jesus, but only one is the true biblical Jesus. Focusing on the true Jesus is focusing on the truths revealed by God and the relationship made possible with Him by and through that Jesus. Jesus tells us that His earthly mission is to bear witness to the truth and that if we are of that truth we will hear His voice. That said, we all know that frequently this call to truth can conflict with or confuse our call to unity in Christ as differences in opinion arise within the church over significant issues, including those that are essential to the gospel. I believe this conflict within the church (and Baptists have not been immune to what Stanford economist Thomas Sowell has called "conflicts of vision") to be one of great challenges of our time. How we handle it will go a long way to defining the church of our age. I think that discussing truth, and even disagreeing and corporately struggling with truth within the church, is an important body-building exercise within the body of Christ. But yes, as we struggle, we must keep our focus on the true Jesus. He alone is the way, the truth, the life.
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