There are so many contentious topics in Christian circles.
Predestination or Freewill?
Hymns or Songs?
Quiche or Cake?
NIV or RSV or Message or HCSB?
(Ok, yes, I know that there are more: Baptism, place of women, homosexuality, Bible interpretation etc, but they all need their own posts at some point, maybe…if I decide I am brave enough!)
I think though, that there are far more central questions. What is it that unites us? Who will we worship alongside, who will we break bread with? I can only answer for myself.
If you worship with hymns, if you worship with contemporary music, if you worship in silence, or if you worship in a mix of all these, as long as we are worshipping God, I will worship with you.
If you dress smartly to meet with the church, if you wear your everyday clothes, if you wear mismatched and weird clothes, or if you are dressed as Spiderman, as long as you have something on, I’ll worship with you.
If you were baptised as a baby and baptised your own babies, or if you hold to believers baptism, or if you think no activity is more sacred than another, then as long as we are both seeking God, I’ll worship with you.
If you the Bible is literal, sacred, inerrant, in need of interpretation, guidance, word of God, written by men, history, a good book, a mishmash of all these, as long as we are worshipping the God revealed in it, then I’ll worship with you.
If you drink alcohol or refuse it, if you are vegan, vegetarian or omnivore, if you swear or not, if you have tattoos or not, if your hair is a natural colour or not, if your skin is white, brown, black, tan, pink, orange, red, yellow, purple or green, as long as we are all seeking to follow Jesus, I’ll worship with you.
If you believe in freewill, predestination, or double predestination, if you worship God, I’ll break bread with you.
If you use bread, wafers, wine, fruit juice, or a whole meal, if we are remembering Jesus and meeting with him, then I will break bread with you.
If you are seeking to follow Jesus as your Lord, Saviour, Friend, Brother, Advocate…or just as Jesus, undefinable, finding your hope, your life in him, then I will break bread with you.
That is the bottom line I think, despite all that can divide and separate us, do we believe in Jesus, alive and loving, seeking out us as we seek him? Do we follow him despite all our failings and differences? Do we know we are loved and want to love others?