Loving Our Christian Brothers

The beauty of what we believe is our faith that holds us and molds our hearts into God's grace and mercy. If we allow ourselves to be immersed in the world we will find our faith tested from the realm of the world.

Sad, but even with good intentions we must realize that some of the things we do in our lives may not be a problem for us as much as it may be for those who are not of our same mind set. Small steps for some in their faith may be giant leaps for some of our brothers and sisters. We need to consider them when we begin to take steps that they are unable to match with ours if we are leading. We may be leading in a direction we believe God is wanting us to go, but there are others with just as strong a faith who believe that they are being led not to go where we are heading.

How do we blend the two?

It takes two. We must be so in tune with our brethren in our spiritual family that they believe that they can disagree with what may be proposed and not be alienated by the decisions or feel forced to accept it without loving consideration. Too many times we believe that leaving those "more traditional" or "more conservative" brethren behind may be a good thing. Leaving anyone behind is not what a shepherd or minister does. There are those sheep who just will not follow, but are we sure we are leading them in the right direction?

My faith is not shaken when brethren come away with a different take on what I consider a change for the good. I am challenged to make sure that they understand why I see it the way I do. I realize that my baby steps may be those great leaps of faith for some. They may think that my approach is unloving if I do not consider them in the decision and handle them with love and concern.

I have had to repent for moving in directions I felt the church I was serving needed to go without thinking of how some would feel about it. When we do something that affects everyone without considering everyone, we are not being the family of God. We are being like children in the marketplace, wanting what everyone else has. Feeding on the sugar of the world, leaving the family to wallow in doubt and some feeling the need to fit in accepting what is proposed just to fit in while shaking their faith.

I am all for moving forward and reaching out, but we must be careful not to destroy the family of God for the acceptance of man. This is for anything that affects our spiritual family we meet with each and every week. May God bless His church and those who lead it into the future. May God bless us all as family.