NO MATTER WHAT THE COST

“The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.” Napoleon Bonaparte


I love this quote. It is a little something I read on my flip-calendar a few weeks ago and today it is making me think of a conversation I had Friday night.

I was walking back from the mailboxes at my apartment complex after mailing some letters when I noticed a car pull up carrying two guys in business attire…not the norm for 7:30 on a Friday night. One of them walked up to me and asked me where I was at with the Lord. I told him I was a Christian. So we started talking about how we wished the church would be a united place and how divisions in the church make it difficult for non-Christians to see the truth. Then the men told me that they were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That was when the conversation got really interesting.

It is amazing to me that some people can read the same Bible and get two completely different messages. I believe that the Bible is THE word of God inspired wholly by him. I also believe that it is the ONLY gospel truth. Nothing will ever shake that belief from me, which is why I think I ended up frustrating the guys I was talking to. BUT, here’s my question of the day---“How do you convert someone who is trying to convert you?” The one thing we agreed on is that the church should not be divided. We need unity. And the whole time we were discussing I was asking questions, probing, listening, and best of all…learning. Knowing about other religions brings understanding. The more I probed, the more I learned and the more messed up I saw the opposing “truth” that was presented to me as being. But I do give them credit for taking the time to talk to complete strangers about their faith, even if what I gained from the experience was not what they had hoped for. I have been reminded that you can never know your Bible too well. I may have been able to quote Bible verses and argue my side with passion; but real faith requires one to be a serious student of the Bible, no matter what the cost. There should be a cost in following Christ. If there is no cost, do we even know what we stand for?

Opposition is one thing most people flee from. Others take it head-on with little fear. I tend to sway on both sides of the persuasion. Some arguments are simply not worth picking. But often it is the people that I don’t agree with, that have taught me a lot about what it is that I actually believe. Some arguments are necessary!

I am left pondering…and encouraged to read my 2,000 page book on modern cults. Who says you can’t be a student of ministry without enrolling in a class? I just need a little accountability. Life happens too quickly. May that passion within me never die out. For that, to me, would be death itself.

Be challenged…keep fighting!