I do it every time I walk into a room. More recently, I have been working not to do it, but subconsciously it just happens. It doesn’t matter what type of situation I am meandering into. It happens at sports fields. It happens at work. I’ve done it heading into the grocery store. Every week as I head into the gym I do it. I even do it when I walk into church. What is it? I look around to see those who are like me. I look for “my people”. I’m looking for similarities.

Anytime we engage with others in conversation we are really probing for common ground. Things we can agree on or have commonality around. We do it with sports teams, hobbies, weekend activities, and more. The same is true when it comes to religion and beliefs. The interactions we have we are often perusing for common ground. If we are in a group we are seeking to know “do I align more closely with person A or person B?”. But this is where labels can be helpful and hurtful all at once. Because under ones label is actual beliefs.

We both believed that an honorable believer doesn’t insult his opponent by pretending that the differences aren’t real.

A.W. Workman

This is the experience A.W. Workman had when staying with a retired pastor, a Middle Eastern follower of Jesus, and an Egyptian Muslim. Over the course of an evening, Workman sought understanding through conversation. And as the dialogue continued well into the morning, A.W. came to an unusual conclusion. Check out the story and conclusion in the article “Closer to Islam than Liberal Christianity“. It is quite an interesting and revealing tale.

READ THE ARTICLE

What do you think the point of recalling this story is? Why would A.W. want to share this experience? I was simply fascinated by the desire of an Egyptian Muslim and American Missionary to engage in honest discussion about their faith without spiraling into insults. It gives me hope and encouragement to continue to engage with others. Specifically to fight against my natural tendency and to find those who may look, think, and even believe differently than me and pursue truth through dialogue, together.

As always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.

Until Next Time…

Photo by Alec Favale on Unsplash