Read
For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
1 Corinthians 11:4
Reflect
Eli was in a hurry. He had forgotten to set his alarm, so he woke up almost an hour later than usual. He had just enough time for a two-minute shower, a sip of coffee, a bite of toast and a quick brush across his teeth. At least he got to work on time, but when he arrived, everyone was looking at him very strangely. He’d looked at himself in the car mirror while he was on the road and everything looked OK. His hair was combed and he did have time to shave.
But that mirror didn’t show what everyone else was noticing. In his rush to dress quickly, Eli had missed the top button on his shirt, and so every other button was out of place. He was on time, but he looked a complete mess, at least until he ducked into the restroom to remedy the mistake.
We’ve all probably done that at least once. If that top button is wrong, then the entire shirt is wrong. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a stunning tie or if the shirt is meticulously pressed. If the shirt is improperly buttoned, you will draw some strange looks from folks.
Our faith is that way, too. The core of the Christian faith requires some vital elements to be in place. Pieces of the life of Jesus Christ need to be acknowledged and agreed with, like his divine relationship with God, his birth by a virgin and his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection in three days. If that Jesus isn’t at the top of our “faith shirt,” then everything else is going to be out of balance.
That’s why there is a disconnect between Christianity and other religions. Their top button is completely different, so everything beneath that will be different from what we believe. We should absolutely respect their right to believe what they want to believe. It’s not up to us to look down on people for believing differently, but we have to recognize those vital differences. We should lovingly share our faith with others who don’t believe as we do in the hope that they will see the necessity of salvation in the risen Christ.
Today, make sure your top button starts off correctly. A good place to start is the Nicene Creed. (I’m using the Anglican version, but your church might have a different version whose wording is slightly different.) We might look different and our methods of worship could differ greatly, but we can all stand strong together as fellow Christians when we button our faith in the same way.
Reflection copyright © 2024 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
