Rodent Regatta

Cass McNutt has the ability with a few words, a selected story or a brief insight to bring everything into perspective once more. As denominations fight amongst themselves in ways that confuse the average observer, Cass reminds us of this story.

On the subject of something some call ”absolute truth,” it occurs to me that we might one day be called to give an accounting for ourselves. Wouldn’t it be tragic if one of God’s questions was, ”Did you ever do anything to drive someone away from Me?” The truthful answer? ”Yeah, but I was defending absolute truth that day.”

Who gets to be the final arbiter of the truth of scripture? Who is so wise in this world today that they can confidently decide that the act of locking a long-time seminary president out of his office is somehow ”ok,” while we have beer-guzzling deacons, racists, cheating wives and all other forms of human diversion seeking a place in the pew on Sunday morning?

No matter which ”most offensive sin” we select, inevitably one or more of those ”sinners” will seek comfort with God. The time wasted in deciding which leaders get to wear the badge of acceptance (i.e. someone who will fix his signature to the new Baptist Faith and Message and discard the old) is clearly time that cannot be regained to reach the sinner. Does reaching a sinner with The Good News ”matter more” than ”purging” someone who doesn’t believe or behave as we do? ”It matters to this one.”