Unity, uniformity, and love

Mike Russell is one of the rare Christian bloggers who doesn't often color his writing with a favorite flavor of doctrine (unless, of course, pro-Middle-Earth is a theological camp). That's part of the reason he's worth paying attention to when he writes about John 13:35 and doctrinal divisiveness in the church:

We seldom have trouble loving those who subscribe to the same set of beliefs as we; we are challenged, though, when we encounter Christians who not only hold to different doctrines but seem to be able to defend and support them biblically. We can argue with their hermeneutics, perhaps, but these less-than-truth-knowing believers are difficult to love. Doctrines and beliefs contrary to our own can be unsettling and unnerving; we do not like them and do not like those who espouse them.

But Jesus calls us to love them just the same. This is no easy calling: I want to evaluate others according to my standards of truth, first judging whether or not they are worthy of my love. You know, the “pearls before swine” test.

Amen. By the way, another reason he's worth paying attention to is that Mike's an excellent writer with valuable ideas on uniformity, unity, and love.