“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6. That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Toward the close of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he admonished them to be like-minded. That was wise advice. We need to heed it in our own churches. What does it mean to be like-minded? We should be like-minded “according to Christ Jesus.” Out of love and commitment to Jesus Christ, we should seek, and pray, to be like-minded. This is the motivation for like-mindedness. First, we should think alike: “That you may with one mind…” I want to warn you that this does not mean to have group-think. This is what happens when one group, or one powerful man or woman, do all of the planning for the church. It does not mean that we have to walk in lock-step. True like-mindedness occurs when Christians meet together to make a decision, ideas are shared and discussed prayerfully and respectfully. When a decision is reached after prayerful agreement, the church of Jesus Christ moves on with the mission of Christ. It will pay to learn to disagree like Christians. Second, we should speak alike: “and with one mouth…” When we speak of and for the fellowship of our church, we should stress agreement rather than disagreement. In other words, the whole town, county, or state does not need to know about our disagreements. (That is part of what I meant about disagreeing like Christians.) Actually, if you cannot think of something good to say about your church – which would be a shame on you or your church - then don’t say anything. I don’t mean to be harsh on this matter, but I have seen mouths destroy many a church. Third, the purpose of like-mindedness is to glorify God: “That you may with one mind, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Actually, this is the purpose of the church – period. He put us here to glorify Him. Sometimes to do this we have to speak prophetically to a lost and dying world about Jesus Christ. Often, we have to disagree on moral matters with the world at large. To disagree with the world does not give us permission to hate the world, for we are called to love as Christ loved. I think that you will agree that this makes like-mindedness all-important. Say “amen.” Bro. Joe Note: I will have a wedding in Colorado Springs on Sunday. I'll be traveling on Sunday. I will return on Tuesday.
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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