As I’ve gotten involved in various Christian organizations or causes, there inevitably comes disagreement and eventually a split of some kind. You have to choose which fork in the road to take, and the number of people you find yourself among are about half of what they were. Eventually, there’s another fork and another and another. Maybe not among the same group, but in different ways, you’re growing more and more specific in your beliefs, and you may eventually find yourself among a very small group.
This has always troubled me. But my friend has this to say:
“There’s rarely if ever such a thing as perfect unity between creatures who learn discursively, so we should not be under any unrealistic illusions of unity. What we can expect are alliances and sharply defined unity and division with everyone we enjoy fellowship with. This requires effort and charity, but it is worth the investment and necessary.
Division is necessary, but it does not necessarily mean we are ultimately divided. Paul said that without division, we’d never know what is right or wrong. I love and am united with sincere Christians who believe fascist propaganda. Ultimately, we are united, in Christ, but on their idolatrous, fearful error, we are divided. The ultimate unity, in spite of division is what the world will look on and admire. As iron sharpens iron through debate and friction, it produces deeper and more meaningful unity.
False unity: ignoring of division, and neglecting iron sharpening iron is not admirable. It requires no effort. It’s lazy, and there is no love in it. I despise the “agree to disagree” attitude. It’s not Christian.”
The good news is you are learning from different people and organizations, and eventually, you don’t need them anymore. You still need fellowship, but you don’t have to be taught about a certain topic any longer. Hopefully, as we get older and more mature and you find that the group you identify with is smaller and smaller, you have unity on important topics with local Christians. Even though they may not know as much as you, and they occasionally say things you disagree with, you can teach them what you’ve learned. Maybe they’ll come to agree and maybe they won’t, but you have unity on the important doctrines of the faith.
