Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: The Answer? Put Christ at the Center

During an event in which I was representing my ministry, a woman tried to draw me into a political conversation. She suspected that I did not agree with her political viewpoint. I declined to engage, telling her, "I don't discuss politics. What I want to do is to tell people to follow Jesus and put his instructions into their daily lives."

That moved the conversation along. Not because I shut her down, but because I drew her in. She agreed that Jesus was more important than what she wanted to discuss.

As we wonder how to unify with people with whom we disagree, there is an ace card we can play: Jesus.

A couple of months ago, I shared a blog (see my March 2 entry) on the 5 C's of marriage. One C was putting Christ at the center of our marriage.

Reflecting on my near-political conversation, it struck me: Why not also put Christ at the center of all our relationships?

Perhaps that's what is missing today - our dependence on the greatest unifying force in history. The one who brought Jews and Gentiles together. Not to mention specific sub-groups like occupying Roman forces, Samaritan outcasts, secret Pharisee followers, prostitutes, tax collectors - you name them.

Jesus is the high ground in our conversations. When we see ourselves at odds with other Christians in particular, we should appeal to our mutual love for Jesus. We need to openly ask, "What Would Jesus Do?" That phrase became cliche, but we need it more than ever. We must read the Gospels and fully understand, what indeed would Jesus do?

When we let Jesus be our guide - both through scripture and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit - we can live differently and bring others along with us.

This approach may seem simple and obvious, but I have to tell you: over the last couple of years, I have attended multiple large-scale Christian gatherings where I barely heard Jesus mentioned. I've heard "culture." I've heard "The Enemy." I've heard complaints about people that "aren't really Christians." I've heard Old Testament scripture quoted in ways that made me wonder if the speaker had ever reached the New Testament.

I haven't heard nearly enough about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And when I have, it might only be focused on his salvation, not his teaching. Not his revolutionary messages about how to change the world each day by changing ourselves first.

Let's get back to the high ground. Let's plant the cross in the midst of our arguing. Let's hold hands with Jesus so that we will hold hands with each other. Is Jesus indeed the answer to our quarreling divisions within his church? He must be.

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