I often say our rescue by Jesus was not just ‘from something‘ (sin, shame, an empty way of life, brokenness, etc.) but ‘for something.’ And I pray that He will bring me into ALL He rescued me for.
I am wondering, when speaking of this world’s “tragic division,” if you might give a snippet of what true unity might look like in our lives?
If we hope to move toward true unity in a world marked by tragic division, I think we need to hold two things at once:
1. The reality of deep difference
We live in a moment where sharply different ideas are colliding—politically (democracy vs. totalitarianism), economically (free enterprise vs. socialism), and spiritually. These aren’t just minor variations of the same truth. Real unity isn’t about pretending the differences don’t exist.
For those of us shaped by Christian faith, this requires returning to the core ideas that have always formed its foundation. That means not just experiencing faith emotionally, but also testing its intellectual and moral integrity. You’ve spent time with L’Abri and the legacy of Francis Schaeffer, who believed Christian faith wasn’t just personal—it was philosophically and culturally credible.
Dorothy Sayers once wrote, “Not one in a hundred people in this country have the faintest notion what the Church teaches about God or man or society or the person of Christ or the meaning of salvation.” That’s a wake-up call to rediscover the deep truths that actually form the faith and provide the basis for real conversation with others with different ideas.
2. The humility that comes from grace
But there’s a danger here. Whenever we speak of “truth” or “foundation,” we risk sounding smug or superior. That’s where grace steps in.
If we see anything clearly, it’s not because we’re better. It’s because we’ve been shown mercy.
Elton Trueblood, in The Declaration of Freedom, points to John Woolman as a model. Woolman opposed slavery not with rage or superiority, but with love. He sought to rescue both the slave and the slaveholder—from injustice, from blindness, from a system that deformed everyone. He spoke truth, but without condemnation. He held conviction, but walked in humility. He pushed quietly, using reason, prayer, and morality to hold up to slaveowners how their ideas and practices had no merit--and damaged everything and eveyone it touched. His work wasn't borne from being a social justice warrior, but from having become convinced about the far-reaching truth of the faith. From that conviction, his actions built solid, transformative unity, not more layers of division and separation.
That’s the shape of unity I long to see—not cheap agreement, but courageous love rooted in grace and truth.
What do we have that we haven’t been given…. Amen.
Seems like, within the Church, remembering what brought us here in the first place…the Love of God poured forth in the Gospel of Christ…a life poured out on our behalf…the drawing of the Spirit… God Himself…and remembering how “undeservingly” so it is true…
Just seems like humility would be the shoes we walk in, creating powerful unity as we walk in such great love. And though Jesus warned if they hated Him, they will hate us…I can imagine that such great love and unity would change many in the world around us…if that makes sense.
I love this conversationm, Debbie! On the surface, it seems impossible sometimes. But if the love of God is truly as transformative and powerful as Christian faith claims it is--and I have come to see that it is—then a powerful new reality, not force, not majority, not domination, not coercing, not humiliating others, is at work in this world. If we learn to open our hearts to this reality, and immerse ourselves in it, and never get far from it, then, yes, this is possible.
I love how Elton Trueblook, in another book, says this: "Somewhere in the world there should be a society consciously and deliberately devoted to the task of seeing how love can be made real and demonstrating love in practice. Unfortunately, there is really only one candidate for this task. If God, as we believe, is truly revealed in the life of Christ, the most important thing to Him is the creation of centers of loving fellowship, which in turn infect the world. Whether the world can be redeemed in this way we do not know, but it is at least clear that there is no other way." This thrilling possibility is at the heart of spiritual formation and spiritual direction/guidance. This is what we are leaning into. This is what we are companioning others into.
I often say our rescue by Jesus was not just ‘from something‘ (sin, shame, an empty way of life, brokenness, etc.) but ‘for something.’ And I pray that He will bring me into ALL He rescued me for.
I am wondering, when speaking of this world’s “tragic division,” if you might give a snippet of what true unity might look like in our lives?
If we hope to move toward true unity in a world marked by tragic division, I think we need to hold two things at once:
1. The reality of deep difference
We live in a moment where sharply different ideas are colliding—politically (democracy vs. totalitarianism), economically (free enterprise vs. socialism), and spiritually. These aren’t just minor variations of the same truth. Real unity isn’t about pretending the differences don’t exist.
For those of us shaped by Christian faith, this requires returning to the core ideas that have always formed its foundation. That means not just experiencing faith emotionally, but also testing its intellectual and moral integrity. You’ve spent time with L’Abri and the legacy of Francis Schaeffer, who believed Christian faith wasn’t just personal—it was philosophically and culturally credible.
Dorothy Sayers once wrote, “Not one in a hundred people in this country have the faintest notion what the Church teaches about God or man or society or the person of Christ or the meaning of salvation.” That’s a wake-up call to rediscover the deep truths that actually form the faith and provide the basis for real conversation with others with different ideas.
2. The humility that comes from grace
But there’s a danger here. Whenever we speak of “truth” or “foundation,” we risk sounding smug or superior. That’s where grace steps in.
If we see anything clearly, it’s not because we’re better. It’s because we’ve been shown mercy.
Elton Trueblood, in The Declaration of Freedom, points to John Woolman as a model. Woolman opposed slavery not with rage or superiority, but with love. He sought to rescue both the slave and the slaveholder—from injustice, from blindness, from a system that deformed everyone. He spoke truth, but without condemnation. He held conviction, but walked in humility. He pushed quietly, using reason, prayer, and morality to hold up to slaveowners how their ideas and practices had no merit--and damaged everything and eveyone it touched. His work wasn't borne from being a social justice warrior, but from having become convinced about the far-reaching truth of the faith. From that conviction, his actions built solid, transformative unity, not more layers of division and separation.
That’s the shape of unity I long to see—not cheap agreement, but courageous love rooted in grace and truth.
What do we have that we haven’t been given…. Amen.
Seems like, within the Church, remembering what brought us here in the first place…the Love of God poured forth in the Gospel of Christ…a life poured out on our behalf…the drawing of the Spirit… God Himself…and remembering how “undeservingly” so it is true…
Just seems like humility would be the shoes we walk in, creating powerful unity as we walk in such great love. And though Jesus warned if they hated Him, they will hate us…I can imagine that such great love and unity would change many in the world around us…if that makes sense.
Is this possible?
I love this conversationm, Debbie! On the surface, it seems impossible sometimes. But if the love of God is truly as transformative and powerful as Christian faith claims it is--and I have come to see that it is—then a powerful new reality, not force, not majority, not domination, not coercing, not humiliating others, is at work in this world. If we learn to open our hearts to this reality, and immerse ourselves in it, and never get far from it, then, yes, this is possible.
I love how Elton Trueblook, in another book, says this: "Somewhere in the world there should be a society consciously and deliberately devoted to the task of seeing how love can be made real and demonstrating love in practice. Unfortunately, there is really only one candidate for this task. If God, as we believe, is truly revealed in the life of Christ, the most important thing to Him is the creation of centers of loving fellowship, which in turn infect the world. Whether the world can be redeemed in this way we do not know, but it is at least clear that there is no other way." This thrilling possibility is at the heart of spiritual formation and spiritual direction/guidance. This is what we are leaning into. This is what we are companioning others into.