So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. (John 10:15-16)Hard as it is to believe, there are other people in the Kingdom of God than you and other opinions than yours.
We get to thinking that the way we feel, the way we believe, the way we view things is the right way to do it. And we get to thinking that anyone who disagrees with us is wrong. That is somewhat normal, since each one of us lives inside our own minds.
It takes a child a long time to realize that other people have feelings equal to his, that they hurt when you bite them or pinch them, that they have their feelings hurt too. That is hard for a child to realize but it is an essential part of growing up.
People who never realize that fact are mentally ill. They are called psychopaths. Billy the Kid and Charles Manson are two who come to mind. They feel they are the only real people and everybody else is there to do what they want.
People get like that in the church. They feel that theirs is the only real theology or the only real interpretation, and if you do not agree with them, you are sinful and God does not love you.
Several times Jesus said that there were other sheep, other viewpoints, others performing miracles in his name. These were not part of the group normally associated with Jesus and a couple of times, the apostles were ready to stop them. But Jesus said leave them alone. He said: Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you (Luke 9:50).
That’s a hard thing, to accept people with different viewpoints. It is hard to realize that others do not see the scripture as you do and have a different opinion. And it is hard to realize that their opinion is as valid as yours.
Churches have been torn up by this. But when it comes down to it, people look at different things in different ways all the time. How many flavors of ice cream are there? Or styles of clothing? Or styles of music? Or kinds of cars? You can’t even get people to agree on how their steak is done. It is weird to think that we would all look at the word of God exactly the same way.
Just because people disagree with you doesn’t matter. What matters is what the apostle Paul said in Romans 10:9: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
After all, he also says in 1 Corinthians 12:3: So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
The devil cannot glorify God no matter what else he may try to do. And if someone proclaims Jesus as Lord and works to that end, even if he disagrees with you, he is still among Jesus’ sheep. And you accept him, just like Jesus told his apostles to do.
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