Meet in the Middle

Just the other day I heard an old song that was once one of my favorite tunes. The song was "Meet in the Middle" by Diamond Rio. The chorus of the song goes something like this (forgive me if this reads a little off key but I have to sing the words in order to write them!);

"I'd start walking your way, You'd start walking mine, we'd meet in the middle 'neath that old Georgia pine. We gain a lot of ground when we both give a little, ain't no road too long when we meet in the middle. I love the way we work it out , thats what love is all about."

As I listened to the song I began thinking about something very near to my heart, the church. I know it might seem strange that a country music song would turn my mind toward the church, but it's true. This song extolls the lengths one will go to to be united with the one they love.
Prior to his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for the unity of believers in that time as well as those in ages to come. Jesus' prayer for Christians was that we would be one so that "the world may believe that you (God) have sent me." (John 17:20-21) I fear that we often ignore, dismiss, or refuse, to work at what Christ deemed to be a vital part of Christianity.

If we truly love each other and the church that brings us together then we will, at the very least, work toward unity. When Paul lists the "seven virtues" in Colossians 3:12-14, he concludes with this statement concerning love and unity; "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." The other virtues we are to put on as Christians are compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. It doesn't take too long browsing the various Christian websites, blogs, and message boards on the internet to realize that compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness are all in short supply. If these virtues are missing then it is obvious that love, "which binds them all together," is missing as well. You can find a lot of "lip service" paid to love in these places but what you don't find is the is the evidence of this proclaimed love. Instead of compassion you will find a lack of understanding, instead of kindness there is a mean spirit, instead of humility is pride in position, gentleness is replaced with aggression, and patience with a quick temper. This lack of unity is fostered on both ends of the theological spectrum, conservatives and liberals alike are guilty. Before anyone starts digging into some of my older writings, I will freely admit that, in the past, I have exhibited the same attitude and lack of love that I am presently writing about and I have a great deal of regret concerning this. So what are we to do? Is Christian unity one of those proverbial "pipe dreams" only good for theorizing but not actually achievable?

I submit that we can find the answer in the song I just sang to you, we need to meet in the middle. Our love for Christ and his church should compell us to hit the road walking to meet our Christian brethren in the middle. The middle need not necessarily signify compromise, we cannot compromise concerning the gospel. However, meeting in the middle will require all of us to compromise in things that don't concern salvation. It takes more effort to be a unified body but, if this is what Christ desires, we should all be willing to extend the effort. "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification." (Romans 14:19)

Wouldn't it be an amazing and historic day to see proudly self labeled "conservatives" and "grace-centered" Christians singing, "I love the way we worked it out, that's what love is all about." Let's set aside our labels and work toward unity