Chapter Twelve
Rev. Dr. Robin W. Lovin

Robin W. Lovin is a United Methodist minister and professor of ethics at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He also has taught at the University of Chicago and Drew University. His latest book, Ethics: An Essential Guide (Abingdon Press), is scheduled for release in summer 2000.

Christians are people of conviction. They follow the word of God as they understand it, even when that means standing against a world where many hardly know what they believe and few stand for anything. That makes them powerful witnesses, but it can also divide them bitterly against one another. The history of the church is a story of such conflicts. In the United States, we have endured turmoils over such issues as slavery, segregation, and economic injustice. Today, we face controversies over the role of women and over human sexuality. Faithful participation in the church requires us to take a stand on these issues, but it also requires us to think about healing and reconciliation.

The first thing that Christians in conflict must remember is that final judgment belongs to God. The One whose purpose is to unite all things in Christ (Colossians 1:15-20) is working toward that end, even in our divisions. We will participate in this final reconciliation, but we cannot set the terms for it.

That does not mean we should dispense with our judgments and just wait for God to act. God acts through our discernment, our arguments, and our efforts to understand what God is saying. Our judgments are important. But they are not final.

This is not to suggest that God’s judgment changes. It is our knowledge in this life that is always imperfect, even when we are aided by the Holy Spirit. "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face" (I Corinthians 13:12a). Healing begins with knowing that our own sight is not yet clear, and expecting that what we will see, when we can see more clearly, will both astonish and delight us.

We do not yet know our neighbors as well as we will someday. We have not heard all that they have to say about their hopes and their hurts, about the loving that makes their lives meaningful, and about the faith that frees them from fear and despair. We do not yet understand how biology and experience work together to form the mysteries of human sexuality. We do not yet know what human relationships will work in a society that is both free and caring.

Also, we do not yet know ourselves. "Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known" (I Corinthians 13:12b). Our understanding of others is always tinged by our unspoken, and even unacknowledged, desires, fears, and expectations. That is part of what makes it so hard to confront real disagreements about human sexuality. Healing begins by knowing that whatever judgment God finally makes, it will fall on all of us.

Because Christians are people of conviction, the church must sometimes endure conflict. Our judgments are important. But the church endures because we know our judgments are not final. In the end, all things come together in God.

Copyright © 2000, Northaven United Methodist Church