I identify myself as being a Christian. I like the best teachings of the reformer Martin Luther. What is better than God’s grace alone? In practice, I’d rather try to bring people together than keep them apart. 

Some of us went to classes in churches that taught the fundamental beliefs of our group and laid down the markers for keeping other groups at a distance. There was a felt need for churches to differentiate themselves from each other. Those boundaries seemed necessary, like fences in a backyard.

Today, many people haven’t come up in any church and are put off by the many Christian groups all claiming to have the truth exclusively. People may admire Jesus, but they can’t make sense of the distinctions church folk continue to maintain. So they just stay away.

Jesus taught his followers there was just one holy, Christian church. It grew because the founders of Christianity built bridges to people wherever they went. For them, the one true faith was exactly that. It was centered on the perfect life and redeeming work of God’s only Son. In many cases they staked their very lives on it. That was pretty convincing.

I believe that is still the bridge to people’s hearts—the clearest telling of the story of Jesus illustrated with our acts of self-sacrifice and humble service. So wherever you go and whomever you meet, see if you can build that bridge.

“As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).