to read or not to read

Well, I finished "The Body Broken". When I got to Chapter 5, I realized that Mr. Benson is more liberal than I or I am more conservative than he....however you want to say it. After reading a couple of paragraphs, I paused ..."Do I continue or put it away?" As I pondered the question, it occurred to me.....that is the whole point of the book.....focusing on the things that bind us rather than the things that divide us. And it gave me an opportunity to think about what I believe and why I believe it. Having your beliefs challenged occasionally is a good thing. So, I decided not to, as they say, "throw the baby out with the bath water" and kept reading. He continued to have some meaningful and truthful things to say and to share testimonies of other Christians demonstrating love towards him.......in spite of their differences.

From reading his book, I believe I can say this about the author: he loves God, desires to know Him intimately, is committed to live in a Christ-like manner, and loves his fellow believers in the Body of Christ. He ended the book with the following:

"We must seek out the things that we have in common and at the same time learn to honor the things that make us different. We must learn to take the things that we hold dear....our sense of community, our love for the scriptures, our hunger for prayer, our capacity for worship...and work to make them wide enough and deep enough to include others rather than keep them at a distance.We must be willing to cultivate humility along with certainty and to seek patience along with piety. We must learn to seek the face of Christ in those who are different as readily as we do in the faces of those who are like us. We must learn to love one another."

I can certainly agree with that!

"...I urge you to live a life that is worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Eph. 4:1-3