The Same Care
By Buff Scott, Jr.
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A few weeks ago, one morning, I had my car radio turned on and tuned to the local station. One of my orthodox brothers, who apparently feels that he has encompassed the whole body of truth, was making a talk on fellowship and unity--in response, no doubt, to our recent concourse on Christian unity in which a number of local ministers with different religious backgrounds participated. He stated that fellowship and unity exist between the Son and the Father because they agree perfectly. He concluded that where differences and discrepancies prevail among brethren, there can be no unity and no fellowship.
Because of this persuasion, he and his followers have built a sectarian wall around themselves and deny entrance to any one who disagrees with them. Not only do they classify as heretics and apostates all who refuse to measure up to the Pharisaical criterion, but they even refuse to participate in any kind of dialogue wherein a better understanding of each other's way of thinking is encouraged. When a fellow-Christian, whose affiliation is with a different segment of the disciple brotherhood, visits their public assemblies, he is not saluted as a fellow-heir of this great salvation. He is, in fact, given the cold shoulder, and the atmosphere of brotherly love which should prevail in all Christian gatherings, is conspicuous by its absence.
In a conversation with this brother some few months ago, he informed me that he and his congregation could not "fellowship" the congregation with which I serve because, as he put it, "You're in error." As far as he was able to determine at the time, the brethren with whom he labored were not in error on anything and there were no differences at all among them. These brethren should be in heaven. They have no business at all living among human beings like the rest of us.
While I abhor this party-istic attitude, I would remind myself, and many of you, that at one time we were equally afflicted with this same spiritual malady. As Paul wrote to Titus, "For we ourselves were once foolish." Thus it was with many of us. Many of our brethren, and others as well, had to bear with us as we exhorted them to give up what they had and "come over to our side." As difficult as it may be, we must now be tolerant toward those whose attitude is exactly what ours once was.
About ten years ago, the elders of a certain congregation asked me to desist from sowing discord among the flock. I wrote back and informed them that I was not abandoning my efforts until I had "exhausted all of the means of getting the truth before them." I had convinced a few others that we should "pull out and start a faithful church" in the east end of town. We did but it turned out to be more "unfaithful" than the one we left. We not only made fools of ourselves but we were a spectacle in the community.
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We now try to make allowance for the errors and inconsistencies of our brethren, as God made allowances for ours. We had become guilty of biting and devouring the very brethren tor whom Christ died, although Paul said, "If you bite and devour one another take heed that you be not consumed one of another" (Galatians 5:15). We now feel that we have a loving God because we love our brethren. In the past we thought we had a legalistic God because we were legalistic toward our brethren. Fear and superstition have been superseded by love (I John 4:18). We believe in discussing our differences, but we have ceased making them tests of brotherhood. Differences will be here long after we are gone. If we were to find a community of Christians who agreed perfectly upon all incidentals as well as upon all essentials, we would have found a community of robots rather than one composed of human beings. We need to have the same care for one another.
(Editor's Note. Brother Scott can be addressed at 137 West Edwards Place, Nevada, Missouri 64772.)