Tell Me The Truth

We talked last night at Shema about inclusion and love - and about the fact that the gospel is a message of reconciliation, and that Christ came to include people, not to exclude them. I think that's good, and it's true.

But, like the oath you take before testifying in court says, it's not the whole truth.

Jesus said this when sending his disciples out:

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her motherinlaw—
a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39)

So what do we do with this? Honestly, I think that anyone who teaches is in a tough spot, and as you get in front of people who have less and less background information through which to filter and understand the message, the more difficult it gets. How do you include enough to fairly represent the truth without overwhelming them? The Bible is not a simple book, and almost any time that you teach one concept in a simple way you risk teaching against an equally valid one, as is the case here.

As I see it, we are called to love and live in peace with all men, if possible. But that possibility does not come at the cost of compromising the truth. And here is the great divider in the traditional church and the emergent church today. The emergent church seeks to love, at any cost. The traditional church seeks to protect truth, at any cost. And when we have two opposites that we are called to live by, the answer is not going to be a simple one.

It will not be without tension, and it will not be a line we can draw and leave in the sand for the rest of time. What is the relationship between love and acceptance? God loves everyone, but will not leave any sin unpunished. He does not want anyone to live or die out of relationship with him, but he has allowed only one very infliexible and ultimately demanding way to be in that relationship. It's a tense place to be, and one that demands more wisdom and discretion than any of us has within us to truly understand which way to go. But that's where we are, and we can't pretend otherwise.