Disagreement, carefully constructed and thoughtfully conveyed, enriches a discussion and widens others' thinking.
Dissension is disagreement that leads to discord.
What is the critical difference?
Agenda.
The motive of the heart.
I have watched a parade of people come and go in the same church for nearly twenty years, including pastors and their families.
I suspect it is no small matter in the eyes of God what agenda we bring with us to church.
In Matthew 13:3-8, Jesus uses a boat for a pulpit, speaking to those gathered on the shore:
"What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams."This is a story about our faith journey and we hear it discussed often. But I wonder if Jesus is showing us that what the seed falls in, determining its growth or lack thereof, is our personal agenda, sometimes seduced by dissension.
That's what we will examine over the next few days.
Lord, please meet each of us in our reader's heart and show where our seed is falling.
