The title above is this septuagenarian’s (old guy) ‘at the end of the day’ opinion/conclusion. Furthermore, I think it applies to pretty much all of us and that it also applies to a great many issues and topics in our lives. I have also noticed that after many ears of paying attention to the world around me we can go to ridiculous extremes in our thinking and reasoning to justify our personal opinions. While we are quite capable of rational thought, we can toss it aside as we go to great lengths to ‘prove’ our case. Our personal opinions and conclusions trump what appears to be simple common sense and logic.

The current political climate in our nation is probably a great example. Without discussing details, it’s pretty ugly, is it not? Then there are our pet ‘causes’. In our quest for ‘social justice’ we can adopt genuinely discriminatory actions and policies, while we claim to hate discrimination! Prove me wrong, please!

The same principle applies to matters of faith and religion, even Christianity. Just recently, I’ve been involved in a discussion with another Christian concerning, in part, the Kingdom of God; specifically, Mark 1:15 and these words of Jesus:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (KJV)

In a couple of comment exchanges my friend told me that the Kingdom of God had NOT come. When I replied with Jesus very words that it HAD (past tense) come, he explained his reasoning. When Jesus spoke those words the Kingdom of God HAD come, but He put the Kingdom of God on hold, which is nowhere stated in scripture that I can find. After more than one comment exchange, my friend told me that Jesus put the kingdom on hold because, as Paul stated in Acts 13, the religious Jews refused to receive Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. He referenced dispensationalism as his ‘proof’ reasoning, as if dispensationalism is settled doctrine. When I mentioned that the big “D” was developed by men (Darby an others) in the 19^th century it didn’t even phase him. Likewise, when I suggested that the Kingdom of God might have both a spiritual meaning in the here and now and a physical meaning in the future, I think it went right past his ‘think box’.

Finally, I tried to present the “agree to disagree” thought and he just kept arguing. Finally, I just told him that I’m probably a covenantal dispensationalist, since I do believe that both covenants and dispensations can be found in Scripture. I added that or little ‘debate’ concerned secondary or maybe tertiary issues and that we did agree with the primary issue of the definition of the gospel is what Paul preached in 1 Cor 15:1-4.

Having said that, allow me to reiterate my firm conviction that ‘at the end of the day’, we tend to believe what we want to believe. What we want to believe can depend on various factors, based on our natural inclinations as well outside sources. Once we (Christians included) are convinced that our opinion or view of an issue is THE right one, we can go to great lengths to ‘prove’ our ‘rightness’ and the ‘wrongness’ of any other opinion or belief.

So, the big question for me at the moment is “WHY do we who profess Christ and are filled/baptized with the Spirit when we are born again insist that we are ‘right’ and the other believer is ‘wrong’ about spiritual matters/theology/doctrines when the topic(s) at hand are not explicit, but merely implicit in Scripture? And secondarily, why do we sometimes insist that our ‘debate’ partner is trying to ‘prove’ his/her point when he/she is merely trying to have a simple discussion concerning something?

I’m reminded of the first stanza of that timeless hymn ’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (Louisa M. R. Stead, 1882)

So What? How do I apply that to my Christian walk?

It’s rather simple, really! I need to focus on Jesus’ simple, clear promises found in the text of scripture, and trust God with all of the details. Yes, “Virginia”, the Kingdom of God is real, and it has multiple meanings in the pages of the Bible.

If, along the way I find out that someone, somewhere, as some point in time “discovered” and started teaching the details only God knows for sure, I can put them in a ‘non-essential but interesting’ file. It’s just sad that the friend I’ve been talking about is so stuck in a form of dispensationalism that he won’t even consider the possibility of the Kingdom of God having more than one meaning. So we can pray for him and others whose minds are similarly ‘rusted shut” by doctrines of human invention. I also thank God for changing what I WANT to believe through the presence of the Holy Spirit who dwells within.

Have a blessed Day!