An Oasis in the Desert

Since October or November, I have been attending a small worship service that meets in the hospital chapel on our base in Iraq. I have come to love these meetings. Whenever I gather with other Christians, it is like coming to an oasis in the middle of the desert. My soul hungers and thirsts to be in the presence of Christ with other believers.

Occasionally, doctrinal differences will arise for we are not all from the same religious background. Last Sunday was one of those days. Inevitably, when something like this occurs, one or more people will lose sight of the purpose of our gathering. Instead of feeding our souls with the message of Christ, we end up bickering over interpretations of verses and trying to prove ourselves right.

I do believe that we should have standards for our faith. Some of those standards are not negotiable. As Christians, and I am about to reveal my doctrinal stance here, we must believe the following:

1. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin
2. Jesus Christ was God incarnate
3. Jesus Christ was without sin
4. Jesus Christ died on the cross and his blood cleanses our sins
5. Jesus Christ was resurrected after spending three days in the grave
6. Jesus Christ will return again
7. Jesus Christ is preparing a home for us in Heaven
8. If we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior we will have eternal life.
9. If we do not accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we will die an eternal death
10. The marks of a Christian are love (above all else), thankfulness to God for his blessings, forgiveness that is extended to others and to ourselves, mercy, compassion, praise for God, and joy.

I am sure there are other things I could have put in number 10, but I want to run with my choices. The thing that I see missing in most doctrinal debates is love. We get so wrapped up in proving our point that we often fail to see that we destroy the person we are trying to convince.

In 1 Corinthians 13:2, Paul said:

If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Listen up, Church...if you have all the knowledge in the world, if you can quote book chapter and verse on everything you believe in the Bible but you do not have love, you are nothing.

I came from a Church that was very big on literally interpreting the Bible. In fact, they were so literal in interpreting the Bible that if the Bible was silent on something, this Church would create a law condemning the behavior that was not even mentioned! The motto that was drilled in my head was, Speak where the Bible speaks, be silent where it is silent. The problem is that when you condemn a behavior that is not even mentioned, you, in effect, take a very vocal stand against it. Ergo, you are not silent where it is silent.

I am not pointing fingers at this particular Church. But my experience with it was that although the members had a solid backing in book, chapter, and verse, love was frequently absent.

It has been a hard road for me to stop thinking as I was taught when I was younger. I frequently get a knot in my stomach when I am confronted with teachings that go against the training of my youth. But last Sunday I had an epiphany. I listened to the discussion and just sat back and thought. The absence of love in the debate was so evident. And it reminded me of all the years where I attended a Church that was so wrapped in rules and regulations that it completely abandoned any pretense of loving others, including its own members.

In John 8, we have the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. Now, I don't know about you, but adultery is one of the big sins...it is like the queen-mother of all sins. In fact, there are many self-righteous people out there that consider adultery, divorce, alcoholism, drug abuse, prostitution, etc., as unpardonable sins. People who have committed these sins are treated as pariahs in some churches. The Pharisees, obviously, felt the same way about adultery. They were about to take this woman out and stone her to death. But Jesus made a simple statement: Whichever one of you Pharisees ( you can insert Baptists, Methodists, Church of Christers, Assembly of Godders, etc., for Pharisees) is standing here with no sins, go ahead and throw the first stone. (A Major paraphrase) Then the Christ says something truly remarkable:

When Jesus stood up, He said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, Lord," she answered. "Neither do I condemn you," said Jesus. "Go, and from now on do not sin any more." (John 8:10-11)

Jesus did not command her to go forward in front of the synagogue and confess her sins. He did not demand that she be baptized seven times in the Jordan River. He did not tell her to perform 7 Hail Mary's. He said, in so many words, My daughter, I love you. I forgive you of your sins. Don't commit this sin any more. You don't have to be like this. You don't have to be a slave to lust, greed, and selfishness. I am giving my life for you so you can live a life of joy. And remember one thing: when you do fail again, come to me. I will forgive you again.

Obviously, I made up that paraphrase. But the Biblical record backs me up. I am sure the ministers of my youth are turning over in their graves. How can you say such a thing, Major? they may be asking. The answer is simple: that is what Christ says to me every day of my life. It is what Christ says to all Christians. When you fail, and you will, come back to me. I will forgive you again.

God is love. That means Christ is love. Our sin hurts God...to the core. When we sin, we crucify Christ again. But if we are Christians, the blood still flows, and it is still washing away the dark stains of our transgressions.

The problem with people who think they have a monopoly on Biblical orthodoxy, or Biblical truths, is that they act like Christs blood stopped flowing at Calvary. They act as if you've got one shot in your life to make yourself holy, perfect, and righteous. There is no room for error. Worse, there is no room for freedom. If you screw up...you're done. You are going to fry like a sausage in Hell (a quote from one of my favorite pastors, Dr. Larry Kalb)

But Christ brought us freedom...freedom from the Law. When you replace the Law of Moses with the Laws of the Baptist Church or the Laws of the Church of Christ, or the Laws of the Episcopalian Church, you have missed the entire message of the Crucifixion.

The message of the cross was love. God loved us so much that He sent his only Son to die on the cross so that we might have eternal life. (John 3:16, Major paraphrase).

I do not think a worship service should consist of a bunch of milquetoast sermons about love. There are hard issues that Christians must deal with. Their are issues that Christians will not agree upon. They should be talked about. That is how we grow. But if we do not start with love as the foundation of our faith, than we have nothing. It is love that will make a Church an oasis in the desert.