I remember reading something that Tony Campolo wrote years ago about homosexuality. He said that he and his wife didn't share the same views as to whether being gay was a sin or not. (Maybe it was the book 'Adventures in Missing the Point?).
This shook me up--I was FLOORED by the nonchalant way he mentioned their difference of opinion. I thought (at the time) that the most important part of being a Christian was having the 'right' beliefs. I remember thinking, how on earth are they still married if they don't agree on something as fundamental as THAT?! What if that ever happens to Dan and I? Won't we be 'unequally yoked?'
Lately, as I have been seriously reevaluating my faith, I have pictured Tony and his wife--calmly, and with much love and deep respect--allowing the other to have a different view.
And that gives me peace.
This exact thing baffled me and shook me up a few years ago. And now, after much searching and growing and stretching, and losing lots of answers I thought were right, I think of them as you do, with much love and deep respect and maybe even a sigh of relief, that we can agree to disagree and give each other space for the questions.
ReplyDeleteMandy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting--I love the way you put it "losing lots of answers I thought were right." Yup! The parts of your journey I have read at Messy Canvas really feel familiar to me. The 'sigh of relief' is what I feel most often these days--it is SO FREEING to not have an 'agenda' when discussing these much-debated topics. It is not my job to know the answer, or convince anyone that their answer is wrong. Whew! :)