Pat's Ponderings

 
Why??
 
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 
Matthew 22:37-40  KJV
 
“All the law”  and “All the prophets”.  If the Bible says, “All the law, and all the prophets” why then do we have so many different kinds of churches?
 
As I think back through the years, I am amazed at how often I have heard people who claim to be Christians make fun of and even avoid people who believe differently from them.  Why do people believe as they do?  Could it be that in most cases that is the way they were raised and they have not heard of the beliefs of others?  If this is true, isn’t it our fault that they may not have heard?
 
Before I started to write this column, I started thinking about how many times I have heard people make fun of Pentecostal believers.  I grew up hearing my dad and many others speak in tongues many times.  One lady in particular spoke in tongues and it was beautiful!  It sounded like one of the Psalms.  Does everyone have this gift?  No.  I have never spoken in tongues nor have I heard many loving and kind people do so.  It is not a necessity.
 
There are other denominations, also, that are very “different” from Baptists.  Although in many cases I strongly disagree with them, is it fair to totally blame them?  In many cases they have been taught their ways by their parents when they were children.  If we avoid them, how will they ever know the truth? When I taught GED, at one location there were many Jehovah Witnesses.  Although I do not agree with their beliefs, I do admire the fact that most are willing to work hard to influence others.  Do we Baptists care that much??
 
We could go on and on.  In the Old Testament, there are many examples of people worshiping idols and false gods.  How will it ever end if we simply avoid those people and refuse to witness to them?  
 
When the Bible tells us we are to love everyone, it actually means EVERYONE.  It is easier to do so when we remember that other people were raised differently from what we perhaps were.  We should always go by the Bible.  The Bible says that we should love everyone!  
 
Perhaps we will never fully understand why some things happen, but we can always trust that God knows what He is doing and respect His choices.