I Cannot Walk Together Unless We Be Agreed, By Kentucky
September 1, 2017
Dear Friends, we have been receiving your little publication, The Amish Voice, for about a year. With a sad heart, we have taken note of the scornful title and misleading articles that are published. I have resisted the urging of my dear wife to send this notice much earlier, but it has gotten to the point that I can no longer disregard this misleading material coming into our home, and I feel sure that I will be successful in finding other materials to use to start a fire. So I request the removal of my name from your mailing list once and for all.
You have never given a hint of your denomination or where you stand, so, I, too, choose to remain obscure, but want you to know that I cannot walk together unless we be agreed.
- Kentucky
Joe Keim responds:
It seems clear from reading 1 Corinthians 3:4 that the church at Corinth was also bickering over which group they belonged to. The apostle Paul writes, "While one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?"
Here we are, some two thousand years later, and we still have a similar problem. If the Apostle were to write to us, he would probably say something along the lines of, “While one says, I am of the Old order; and another, I am of New Order ; I am of Schwartzentruber; are ye not carnal?”
Instead of learning from 1 Corinthians 3 , we have taken this idea of separation and division to a whole new level. If an un-churched individual were to try and figure out which denomination to join, he would likely become entirely frustrated with the mess we have made. Not only have we sliced and diced groups into denominations, but we have sliced denominations into sub-denominations and sub-sub-denominations. God help us! Have we not also become carnal and think and act just like the unbelieving world?
Someone recently said that finding the right church is like buying socks at Wal-Mart. You go to the section where socks are being sold and you find many colors, styles, brands, and prices. What at first seemed like an easy task suddenly turned into an overwhelming situation.
Jesus prayed in John 17:21: That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
The cry of Jesus has not changed in 2,000 years. He still wants us to be one as He and the Father are one. The truth is, we are not one and the world has noticed. While we bicker among ourselves, just like the Corinthians, the world scorns and laughs at us. They want no part of us.
Someone might ask which denomination serves as the standard. Old Order? New Order? Schwartzentruber? Beachy? Tobe? Swiss? Weaver? Which one would you recommend I become part of so I can fulfill Jesus’ request and be one with Him and the Father?
Does wearing the same pattern of clothing make us one? Does following the same color, the same routine, and the same measurements make us one? Exactly what did Jesus mean in John 17 when He prayed, "that they also may be one in us?"
- Joe Keim
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