We are one body in Christ......Really?

1st Corinthians 12:12:

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--" Catholic or Protestant?

My search for truth has placed me involuntarily between two worlds--Catholicism and Protestantism. I say involuntarily because I am told that I must be one or the other. They are my personal rock and hard place. For reasons unknown to me, God has not led me to embrace one over the other. So here I am, a mongrel, watching my brothers and sisters bicker and fight.

I have come to believe that The Church is the body of Christ. As Paul tells the Corinthians, this body is made up of many parts. It is my belief that some of these many parts include, Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, Evangelicals and yes, even some who don't attend church at all. We become part of this body when we are baptized by one spirit...the Holy Spirit. We are connected by our belief in the One True God and His only son Jesus who died and rose again that we all might be saved from sin. This faith is what connects us as brothers and sisters, so why do we deny our own family? Why do we feel pity, anger and yes, even hatred for one another?

I have seen:

• Protestant parents of children in a Christian school want to "dismiss" a teacher because she was Catholic.


• A Catholic parent worried that her son might be making protestant friends.


• Protestants, who do not understand Catholic symbols and rituals, equate them with idolatry and "salvation through works".


• Catholics, who do not understand their own symbols and rituals, label Protestants as "unfaithful" and "deserters of The Church".


• Protestants roll their eyes at a child's Catholic T-shirt even while their own children wear shirts with their youth group's logo on it.


• A Catholic express pity for a young lady who died for standing up for Christ because this young lady was not Catholic and therefore would have a harder time entering heaven.

All of this I have seen and more...much more. Yet, all of the people in these examples have a sincere love for God and live their lives deeply rooted in faith.

So what happened?!

I know, I know-- the whole Martin Luther thing and the painful separation that followed. So painful, apparently, that hundreds of years later there is still hostility--even by those who don't have a clue what the whole reformation was even about.

However, this identity crisis of who we are as "Church" did not begin with Martin Luther. It has been around from the very beginning. Paul addresses the issue in his first letter to the church in Corinth.

"For since their is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting as mere men? For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe." (1 Corinthians 3:3-5)

Yes, even in the early church there was jealousy and quarreling. Bickering between the followers of Peter, Apollos and even the followers of Paul.

Also, there were many disagreements between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. So strong were these disagreements and so permeated throughout The Church that Paul had a confrontation with Peter over the issue. Paul rebuked Peter (can you imagine?!) for catering to the Jewish Christians at the expense of the Gentile Christians (Galatians 2:11-13). Yet at the same time unity was stressed when Peter acknowledged that;

"God, who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them (gentiles)by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us (Jews). He made not distinctions between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:8,9)

So why is it so difficult? Even Peter struggled with it. Why do we feel the need to judge the heart of another when we hear, "I am Lutheran", "I am Catholic", I am Evangelical"? Why do we automatically criticize based on denomination instead of rejoice that we have just met another brother or sister in Christ? What are we so afraid of that we put defensive walls up instead of just appreciating each other?

Every one of us has traveled a unique path that led us to our Saviour and salvation. Wouldn't it be more interesting to hear how God has led someone on their journey instead of assuming that God was not a part of it simply because their walk did not mirror our own? Are we really that egotistical?

When Paul was dealing with the quarreling between his followers and those of Apollos and Peter, he clarified that all three of them--Paul, Peter and Apollos were merely men, workers for God. He said in 1Corinthians 3;

"The Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted a seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow."

The glory goes to God alone, the loyalties should lie with God alone.

In truth, God is the God of Catholics as well as Protestants. Jesus did not spill more blood for one over the other.

"But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. (!) If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." --1 Corinthians 12:24-26

Can we go beyond religion and embrace all our brothers and sisters?

Can we trade blind ignorance for the desire to understand?

Can we open our hearts to each other's journeys?

Can we praise God, each in our own unique voice, together?

THE WORD OF GOD

I grew up reading about places where Bibles were not allowed. Men, women and even children would risk their lives to bring Bibles into those places. Pages would be torn out of available Bibles so that God's Word could be secretly passed from one group to another. I guess because of those stories I have always thought of a Bible as a treasure even before I discovered the riches that it held.

Ownership of a Bible has always been a thing of pride for me. I have very fond memories of nearly every Bible that belongs to me.

My first one was purchased at a Bible bookstore that no longer exists. I must have been four. I wandered in there while my mom was in a neighboring store. I noticed a small, soft,

leather-like book.

I couldn't read but I knew what it was. The pages were thin and some of the words were written in red.

I immediately loved it. It fit perfectly in my small hands. I took it to the counter and laid down the two dollars that I had. The elderly man behind the counter (elderly according to my four year old eyes...) told me the price of this perfect little Bible. All I remember was that it was more than two dollars. I must have looked at him like a deer in headlights because he smiled at me and said, "That's o.k., it will be enough".

I was so relieved, I grabbed the tiny book and quickly left the store, I am sure, without so much as a "Thank-you".

I still have that Bible. The words are too small to read easily but it will always be a reminder of the kindness of a stranger

When I was in grade school I noticed that in the spring all the 5th graders in my church received their very own Bibles. The Boys received a black one and the girls received a white one.

Oh, how beautiful I thought those white ones were! I couldn't wait until I was a 5th grader!

Finally, that day arrived.

To my dismay every 5th grader that year received a red Bible.

My senior year in High School I was asked what I wanted for graduation. I knew right away. A leather-bound Bible with my name on it.

I picked out a blue one because the bookstore would have to order a white one and I was too impatient.

Today that Bible is stuffed with bulletins from weddings and funerals, pictures of my kids, a "God Rules" bumper-sticker from the '80's, and 1 Samuel 14 is wrinkled and stained with Dr. Pepper.

It has become what I hoped it would... a faithful companion always there to guide me through this life.

But we live in a disposable world and Bibles seem to be another thing we have an overabundance of.

Is that possible?! Is it possible to have an overabundance of God's Word?

I suppose it could be if Bibles become more "books" than scripture.

I did a search for "Bibles" on Amazon.com. I scrolled down 15 pages listing a vast variety of Bibles. As I scrolled it became a little comical:

NIV Woman's Devotional Bible - the original collection of daily devotion from godly women.

NIV Woman's Devotional Bible 2 - a new collection of daily devotions from godly women.

God's Words of life from the NIV Woman's Devotional Bible -

(not a Bible but....)

Also there were:

The One Year Bible

The Chronological Study Bible

and

The One Year Chronological Study Bible

There were Bibles that I found myself immediately attracted to:

The Archaeological Bible - an illustrated walk through Biblical history and culture.

The Apologetics Bible - understand why you believe.

Can I get those without the Bible part? I already have a Bible or two..... or twenty.

The list went on:

The American Patriots Bible - The Word of God and the shaping of America.

In His Image Bible - Be more like God as you discover His attributes and character.

Quest Study Bible - the question and answer Bible, over 300 articles answering the most asked questions.

The Message Remix New Testament: 2010 Student Planner Edition

It strikes me a little strange that it took generations to settle on what is deemed fit to be an accepted part of "The Bible" (understanding, of course, that even to this day it is not all agreed upon) yet we are okay with adding to it devotions, apologetics, politics, student planners....

Theology books, devotions and other study guides can help us better understand the Word of God but shouldn't they remain separated so that it remains clear that these extras are just that....extras? Ideas we may or may not agree with? By placing these guides within the same pages as scripture are we risking confusing God's Words with man's words?

I ask these questions in humble sincerity as I have purchased many specialty Bibles over the years. They are fun and somehow more personalized than just a plain 'ol Bible (can I call God's Word "plain"?).

Not many days ago I held a soft green leather-bound VeggieTales Bible in my hands silently wishing my children still loved them as much as I do so I would have an excuse to buy it. It would be minutes before I sighed and reluctantly placed it back on the shelf.

But as I see such a variety of Scriptures....

The Boys Bible - finally a Bible just for boys! Discover gross and gory stuff. Find interesting and humorous facts. Apply the Bible to your life through fun doodles, sketches and quick responses.

NIV Women of Faith Bible - experience the liberating grace of God.

Young Women of Faith Bible - moms and daughters can study the Bible together with shared features from the NIV Women of Faith Study Bible

The Life Recovery Bible - the Bible for people in 8 or 12 step recovery

Amplified Bible Mass Market

NIV Backpack Bible

NIV Faithgirlz! Bible

Faithgirlz! Backpack Bible

........I have to wonder

......are we marketing the Word of God?