CONFESSIONS AND CONFUSION

I have a confession to make. For those who have been reading this blog for some time, this probably will not be much of a shock. I am one of those ultra-conservative Christians who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, including the Book of Revelation. That means that I also believe in the concept of the rapture as put forth in the Left Behind books written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Now, that said, I have no problem with those who think differently from me. As best I can tell, eschatological issues are not a matter of salvation. They are a matter of interpretation. If you choose to believe in the rapture, great. If you choose not to believe in the rapture, fine with me. In my opinion, this is an issue that is not an eternal life or eternal damnation issue. Same with creationism/intelligent design and evolution. Same with many, many other issues. Pick a side, debate your side, support your side through biblical arguments, but walk home hand-in-hand as Christians. There is room in the body of Christ for disagreement over ancillary issues (recognizing, of course, the required foundation of faith in Christ's atoning work for the forgiveness of our sin).

Having this mind-set, I have been confused and saddened by some of the attacks I have seen regarding the concept of the rapture. There appears to be a growing faction of Christians who simply cannot tolerate anyone who holds to this concept. They denigrate this position and castigate adherents in writings and in sermons, some even seeming to make the case that those who hold to this concept are not really Christians.

Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemene that the church would be one as He and the Father were One. He prayed that when the world would look at us, they would see us united under His Lordship and would be drawn to Him through us. Vitrolic infightings over ancillary issues not related to salvation do not unite us. They divide us and cause a watching world to see a divided church. Why can't we disagree on ancillary theological issues but remain brothers and sisters in Christ? Why can't we tolerate those who think differently from us? Are we so narrowly defined that we can't even relate with others of different denominations or even with different beliefs within our own denomination?

In all of these arguments, there appears to be common ground. For instance, a Christian holds that God created life. Whether He did it during a literal 6-day period or whether it was through the process of evolution doesn't really matter in the scheme of things. I don't think we're going to have to answer a quiz when we die to see if we picked the right side on evolution or creationism in order to get into heaven.

In the same vein, whether you believe in the rapture or not, we still all hold to the belief that Jesus is coming again as He states in Scripture. If one day I hear trumpets and the heavens roll back as a scroll and Jesus returns in all His glory, I'm not going to cry because the rapture didn't take place like I believed. I'm going to rejoice in His return. And, I don't think I will be judged by Christ for believing in something that was ancillary to the big issues.

I find clarity in the wisdom of song-writers. Clay Crosse once had a contemporary Christian song that said, "it all comes down to a Man dying on a cross for our sins." Waylon Jennings once sang, "maybe it's time that we get back to the basics of love." Truer words were never spoken (or sung). I think it's time we stopped fighting about ancillary issues, started having amiable disagreements, and came together as one to draw a watching world to the One who is important. We have good news to share. Let's not let the message get drowned out in the midst of our disagreements.