There was once an army divided Who then fought side by side. The two stood shoulder to shoulder But one another couldn’t abide. The enemy laughed, “I’ve got them now”, Division being one of his goals, “If I can keep dividing them, I’ll win a few more souls.” If reading syrupy prose like this Your literary senses does offend, Then, two camps, get together, Or I’ll be forced to write again.
Cliques
We will simply always be more comfortable around some people than others. That gives us no right to elevate one faithful brother over another. It gives us no right to exclude fellow Christians because they are not a part of “our usual circle.” Such exclusions and elevations hurt others and can lead to the divisions addressed below.
Divisions
What more beautiful picture of forgiveness exists than the words of Jesus spoken from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The men for whom he prayed had not repented nor asked for God’s forgiveness. And yet, in our brotherhood today there are Christians who are at odds with one another over non-doctrinal issues and neither side will forgive the other because no one has admitted fault and asked to be forgiven.
The problem may have come from wrongdoing by one or both parties or from a misunderstanding of motives that were attributed to certain actions. The result was hurt feelings. Years later there is still division between the two sides even though both parties are doctrinally rock solid.
I write to my faithful brethren who do not fellowship my faithful brethren. The church of Christ does not need division. Be the peacemaker (Matthew 5:9).
