Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

Getting along is a great thing. It is often a difficult thing. But if Scripture teaches us anything, it teaches us to love each other and to get along. Why is it such a problem doing this? I think a lot of it is due to good old fashion ignorance. We are afraid of what we don’t understand so we tend to attack those things or those people. We all think that our own religious beliefs are the correct ones or we wouldn’t believe them. Therefore, those who don’t believe as we do are suspect. This is the heart of our problem.

I remember one of the original series Star Trek episodes where two men were feuding. Both men are identical except one man is white on the left side of his face and black on the right; the other man is white on the right side of his face and black on the left. They were willing to kill each other over this minor physical difference.

Recently, R.J. Moss, one of my church’s elders, and I had the privilege of having lunch with my friend Father Charles Byrd. He pastors Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Jasper. The reason for the meeting was to discuss some of the major differences between Catholics and Protestants. This topic had come up in my church’s Wednesday Bible study.

We talked about the Virgin Mary, the confessional, the Mass, the priest’s vestments, and many other things that set Catholics apart from Protestants. Catholics even have seven more books in their Bible, the Apocrypha. Did you know that? Did you know that Protestants had these books too until the time of the Reformation? There are a lot of differences between Catholics and Protestants. But, are the differences such that we should fight each other over them? I don’t think so.

What I learned from this meeting is that once I understood the reasoning and history behind certain Catholic practices, they made much more sense to me than before. I could understand, not necessarily agree on all points, but understand why they do what they do. Understanding each other takes away judgment and fear. This makes it possible for brothers to dwell together in unity.

The bottom line is that if someone knows Jesus, then we can, as Christians, fellowship with them and still disagree on the peripherals. The fact is we all disagree with other Christians, even some in our own church. We all think we have the truth, but the fact is we don’t have all of it. No one does. We need to appreciate rather than condemn Christian diversity.

If you want to observe the Lord’s Supper, or the Mass, daily, that’s fine. I may do it once a month or once a quarter. We still love Jesus in the process. If you want to baptize by emersion, that’s great. I may get sprinkled. We are still being obedient to His Word.

In closing I want to emphasize the words of Jesus: By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).