suffer one another

It is easy to fight with each other. It is easy to read between the lines of the written word, regardless of its length, and imagine there is more or worse being said, imagine there is more or worse implied than the words have communicated.

It is easy, reading words on screen or page, to condemn the author of the tweet, blog, Facebook post, or book. They are not next to you or to me as we seethe with fury and religiosity, unable to believe another Christian could hold that position, could say those things, could do those things, and still call him or herself a person of True Faith.

It is easy to believe that our own positions, our own opinions, regardless of how well researched they are, are correct.

It is easy to draw a line and declare us versus them. It is written into our history, as Adam distanced himself from his wife, declaring she was the one who suggested they eat the forbidden fruit, and as Eve distanced herself from the serpent, declaring it was the one to blame.

It is easy to declare that you and I are not those kinds of Christians. It is easy to distance ourselves from those with whom we disagree.

But.

This post is part of the At the Lord's Table series that Preston is doing over on his blog. You can read the rest of it there.