Thought for the Month - May 2012
If the Christian Church is supposed to be one unified body, why are there so many different denominations of churches?
Do you like hamburgers? I love ‘em. I prefer mine with pepper bacon, mayo and as many different cheeses as you can melt on top of it, all stuffed into a potato roll. Sometimes though I’ll change things up and go with
miracle whip, maple bacon and shredded lettuce on a sesame seed bun. I also like a good mushroom and swiss burger on a wheat roll. You see where I’m going here? No, not McDonalds……although…..on second thought maybe I will.
We have so many fast food places that serve the same thing--burgers. The King does it flame broiled. Sonic does it on roller skates. Wendy does it fresh never frozen. Ronald does it with two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. How is it they are all able to survive and be profitable with essentially the exact same basic food as their staple meal? It’s simple, we all have different tastes. Even though the meat of every sandwich is the same, what you put around it makes it more or less attractive to you. (Mustard? Seriously?) Churches are no different. We all have unique tastes in worship. This isn’t a bad thing. The Lord created us that way and truly it is a reflection of Him as an artist that we are all unique. There is nothing that mandates we all worship him the same way. We are FREE to worship in different and unique ways.
What is key, however, is that the meat on our burgers is the same. If you bite into a soy burger or a turkey burger or you end up at Long John Silver’s, you know you’re in the wrong place. It’s the same way with God’s truth. There are certain things that make up the core of what God wants us to know and they are non-negotiable. Jesus, who He was, what He did for us, how we relate to Him and what that means for our next life are key issues that should tell you whether a certain church is on track. There are other issues as well
and we need to be attentive to them once we are in His family.
If you are uncertain of what truth is, or where to go to find it, I implore you just to sit down and be honest with God and ask Him about it. If what we reiterate on here month after month is true (that He is real and He does care about you) then He will answer your questions by leading you right into truth. He did it for me and He will do it for you too if you ask. And contrary to popular belief, once you’re in His family + you’re pretty much free to put whatever you like on your burger, it’s one of the things that makes Him so great.
Do you like hamburgers? I love ‘em. I prefer mine with pepper bacon, mayo and as many different cheeses as you can melt on top of it, all stuffed into a potato roll. Sometimes though I’ll change things up and go with
miracle whip, maple bacon and shredded lettuce on a sesame seed bun. I also like a good mushroom and swiss burger on a wheat roll. You see where I’m going here? No, not McDonalds……although…..on second thought maybe I will.
We have so many fast food places that serve the same thing--burgers. The King does it flame broiled. Sonic does it on roller skates. Wendy does it fresh never frozen. Ronald does it with two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. How is it they are all able to survive and be profitable with essentially the exact same basic food as their staple meal? It’s simple, we all have different tastes. Even though the meat of every sandwich is the same, what you put around it makes it more or less attractive to you. (Mustard? Seriously?) Churches are no different. We all have unique tastes in worship. This isn’t a bad thing. The Lord created us that way and truly it is a reflection of Him as an artist that we are all unique. There is nothing that mandates we all worship him the same way. We are FREE to worship in different and unique ways.
What is key, however, is that the meat on our burgers is the same. If you bite into a soy burger or a turkey burger or you end up at Long John Silver’s, you know you’re in the wrong place. It’s the same way with God’s truth. There are certain things that make up the core of what God wants us to know and they are non-negotiable. Jesus, who He was, what He did for us, how we relate to Him and what that means for our next life are key issues that should tell you whether a certain church is on track. There are other issues as well
and we need to be attentive to them once we are in His family.
If you are uncertain of what truth is, or where to go to find it, I implore you just to sit down and be honest with God and ask Him about it. If what we reiterate on here month after month is true (that He is real and He does care about you) then He will answer your questions by leading you right into truth. He did it for me and He will do it for you too if you ask. And contrary to popular belief, once you’re in His family + you’re pretty much free to put whatever you like on your burger, it’s one of the things that makes Him so great.