Unity Among Christians is a Sign of Christian Maturity
[13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14] so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:13–16 ESV
Look at how Paul defines mature manhood (in this context it is Christian maturity) as not being tossed to and fro by the waves of every teaching that comes along. Being steadfast and certain of what you believe and not giving in to every idea is a sign of Christian maturity.
The hard part is, that is also what typifies being a Christian jerk. Just because I don’t buy in to every idea or movement that comes along doesn’t mean that I have to be a jerk to everyone that is blown around by those same movements. I once knew a Bible teacher near Murray, Kentucky that said, in the most humble way, “Every time I hear about some movement in the church I just want to throw up all over.” He was pretty steadfast and not likely to be blown around.
The very next verse explains how we should deal with such things: in love. The way to grow up in Christ is to speak the truth and have it so coated in love that the body is actually built up in that love. The first two descriptors Paul would give about love in 1 Corinthians say that love is patient and kind. What if we spoke the truth in patience and kindness? What if instead of dividing over the truth, we tried to join together as Christians in love?
When we follow Jesus’ command from John 13:34 to love one another, we let people know that we follow Jesus. It’s interesting, that as much as Jesus was the truth and desired people to know the truth, the last supper wasn’t a lesson on orthodoxy. The last supper was a lesson in love. Reach out and show some love to some Christians that have weird theology today. If you’re Protestant, call up your old Catholic friends and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. If you don’t have any, go make some!
Let’s show the world who we follow by our love for one another.