Dear Cornerstone Family,
Every other week or so, I will hear a report about how disagreements concerning COVID-19 have seeded deep division within the leadership or membership of some church. How officers are resigning from positions and scores of members are leaving because a certain decision was made, or a certain approach was adopted of which they disagreed.
Anytime I hear of a branch of Christ’s church “by schism rent asunder,” as the hymn writer puts it, I am grieved. It’s a reminder that things are not yet as they ought to be. That the reality of “one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) that is the foundation of the church is not yet a perfected reality within the life of the church. That we still have a long way to go before our unity in Jesus Christ is brought to perfection in glory.
But when I hear reports of church division, grief is not my only emotion. Believe it or not, I am deeply thankful. Not for the divisions, of course, but for the grace of unity God has given to Cornerstone in the ten years of our existence. It has been nothing short of remarkable.
Yes, we have our family squabbles from time to time, but that’s to be expected. We wouldn’t be a family if that weren’t the case. But the measure of Christ-centered unity we’ve enjoyed over the years is astounding and rare. I pray we never take it for granted. Further, I pray we never grow slack in following Paul’s instruction, “to eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit in the body of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), for unity is easily lost.
Certainly, our unity has been tested in the past eighteen months more than any other time in our ten- year history, and God has certainly exposed areas where unity needs strengthening. Surely we can all acknowledge ways we’ve fallen short of the standard of unity God wants for His people.
As a test of this, ask yourself, when the subject of masks or vaccines comes up, are you listening only to see whether someone agrees with you? Do you find your felt sense of unity with brothers and sisters in Christ comes more from agreement about the virus, politics, or media than the gospel? Do you find yourself becoming dismissive or defensive against brothers and sisters who take a different position than you? Have you gossiped about those who, in your opinion, just don’t get it?
These are heart searching questions. They are designed to expose the way we let agreement or disagreement on worldly matters and controversies take precedence over the perfect and eternal unity that is already ours in Jesus Christ. Division can creep in subtly and quickly erode years of unity. We must be on guard against it, always remembering our heavenly kinship is what brought us together, and it alone will keep us together. Forever.
Your servant,
