To its credit the book of Acts does not present an unrealistic picture of the early church. Our reading for today proves the point. “The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the Lord” (Acts 15:39-40). It really doesn’t matter what the argument was about. It happened, and the author of Acts makes no effort to hide the “sharp disagreement” from us. I think that is important.
I’ve spent the majority of my life involved in the church at various levels and in various ways. It can be a messy place, with disagreements over some interesting things. People get their feelings hurt. Friendships sour. Entire congregations split. It happens, and to say otherwise would be dishonest. Acts makes no attempt to hide the unpleasant truth and as far as I’m concerned that adds veracity to its story.
But shouldn’t the people of God be above that sort of thing? Shouldn’t “church folk” get along, live in perfect harmony, agree on everything? Sure, the church should be a place of joy and of unity, but first and foremost it is a place for real people with real problems—like pride and fear and anger and insecurity. Real people are going to have real misunderstandings. But our very real God is going to be at work nonetheless, and though there will be unpleasantness and turmoil from time to time, there will also be real signs of grace and mercy, opportunities to grow in faith and in love. The church is about moving towards the reign of God. We aren’t there yet, but we really are getting closer.
Prayer: Lord of all, help us to work through our very real disagreements in mutual love and respect, supporting one another even when we see things differently. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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