Splayd
11th February 2007, 01:56 AM
Have you ever become distracted for a period of time and lost focus of the truth? Things you saw clear and true take a back seat while your attention is diverted. I just got back from there. :)
For me - recognising that some cults could trace their roots back to the RM, coupled with the realisation that some that still associate themselves with the RM are really messed up... led me to a serious time of questioning and soul searching. THANKS for your patience and prayers while I went through that :)
I reached a point where I just wanted to distance myself from the RM altogether. The problem is - there's not a perfect denomination out there and I didn't really want to be associated with any particular brand. It's not meant to be about brands. THE Church - founded in and by Christ in AD33 didn't have a brandname. It didn't have a sign out the front that said "Catholic" or "Orthodox" or "Protestant". It was just His church. The divisions developed along the way. I don't have a major issue with people meeting with others of similiar persuasions and convictions and/or attaching another label to that... but it certainly seems unnecessarily divisive to me. Why not JUST be christian? SO that's what I decided to do - forget being a part of the Reformation or the Restoration or the (insert label here) and just focus on being His!
The next problem becomes - if we're not associated with any particular tradition... what practices can I trust? I might be able to accomodate some of the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. I might be able to recognise how they might be OK... but some of them are competing with others, SO unless I see evidence for them in scripture, I can't be certain that they're right. While I'll recognise their freedom in Christ and won't necessarily shoot down each and every thing that's not evident in scripture... I'll also opt to stick to those things of which I can be certain and avoid the confusing trimmings as potential distractions. Why complicate matters? I'll just be a Christian and simply obey scripture.
Here's the funny thing though - that brings me right back to the Church of Christ... but now with a fuller appreciation of what it really is :)
I'd forgotten that "Church of Christ" isn't a brand. It's what's left when you remove them. We're not saying that we alone are the Church of Christ. We're saying that we are a part of the Church of Christ only (even if our congregation's name differs). YES - that church that was founded in 33AD. That's what we're identifying with and as. We're not saying that those of us who carry the sign are that self same church at the exclusion of the others... We're just recognising that ANY christian is already a part of that church. It's comprised of Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Orthodox etc... who are sincerely found in Christ. The only difference with us, is that we've opted to consider that common unity in Christ to be the only affiliation that ultimately matters and ditched the other brandnames. We're not the only Christians, but we are Christians only. We're what's left when the labels get ripped off :)
Sure - some get messed up along the way. Some have turned it all around and upside-down so that it's all about the signs and brandnames again... but that's their problem because they lost sight of the truth. I'm not going to let their distraction also distract me any further. I've come through this time with a new found appreciation for the simple truths and thank God for it.
Peace
For me - recognising that some cults could trace their roots back to the RM, coupled with the realisation that some that still associate themselves with the RM are really messed up... led me to a serious time of questioning and soul searching. THANKS for your patience and prayers while I went through that :)
I reached a point where I just wanted to distance myself from the RM altogether. The problem is - there's not a perfect denomination out there and I didn't really want to be associated with any particular brand. It's not meant to be about brands. THE Church - founded in and by Christ in AD33 didn't have a brandname. It didn't have a sign out the front that said "Catholic" or "Orthodox" or "Protestant". It was just His church. The divisions developed along the way. I don't have a major issue with people meeting with others of similiar persuasions and convictions and/or attaching another label to that... but it certainly seems unnecessarily divisive to me. Why not JUST be christian? SO that's what I decided to do - forget being a part of the Reformation or the Restoration or the (insert label here) and just focus on being His!
The next problem becomes - if we're not associated with any particular tradition... what practices can I trust? I might be able to accomodate some of the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. I might be able to recognise how they might be OK... but some of them are competing with others, SO unless I see evidence for them in scripture, I can't be certain that they're right. While I'll recognise their freedom in Christ and won't necessarily shoot down each and every thing that's not evident in scripture... I'll also opt to stick to those things of which I can be certain and avoid the confusing trimmings as potential distractions. Why complicate matters? I'll just be a Christian and simply obey scripture.
Here's the funny thing though - that brings me right back to the Church of Christ... but now with a fuller appreciation of what it really is :)
I'd forgotten that "Church of Christ" isn't a brand. It's what's left when you remove them. We're not saying that we alone are the Church of Christ. We're saying that we are a part of the Church of Christ only (even if our congregation's name differs). YES - that church that was founded in 33AD. That's what we're identifying with and as. We're not saying that those of us who carry the sign are that self same church at the exclusion of the others... We're just recognising that ANY christian is already a part of that church. It's comprised of Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Orthodox etc... who are sincerely found in Christ. The only difference with us, is that we've opted to consider that common unity in Christ to be the only affiliation that ultimately matters and ditched the other brandnames. We're not the only Christians, but we are Christians only. We're what's left when the labels get ripped off :)
Sure - some get messed up along the way. Some have turned it all around and upside-down so that it's all about the signs and brandnames again... but that's their problem because they lost sight of the truth. I'm not going to let their distraction also distract me any further. I've come through this time with a new found appreciation for the simple truths and thank God for it.
Peace