I have two stories to tell you. So go ahead. Ask Tim Tebow his current stance on abortion. The answer he will give you is that no abortions are justified. There’s even a personal story regarding his own mother deciding on whether or not to have an abortion due to the imminent risk of death if she tried to give birth. During the study of this subject, I then came to the realization of Billy Graham’s stance in the 1980’s. Larry King from CNN had Billy Graham come on his show in the month of January of 1988. Billy said in an interview that his stance regards that all abortions are wrong, except for rape or a possibly fatal risk of the lady giving birth… Think about that for a little bit. Two greatly-admired Christian leaders who seem to have disagreed on the same subject. You might ask, “What is Billy Graham’s current stance on abortion?” I was unable to find this answer. But to say that Billy Graham changed his stance since then would only prove the point of this article even more. You then might ask what the point of this article is. Simply put, there is a fog in life. You can have two great Christian leaders in Tim Tebow and Billy Graham who surprisingly disagree on moral issues. So let me ask you the question, who is right? Tim Tebow or Billy Graham?
This is an important concept to talk about because many of us Christians are very strict in what we believe in. If we meet one other person who disagrees about scripture in even one small way, we completely dismiss them. Don’t get me wrong. There are some faith issues where we are to put our foot down. Some issues are black and white. But at the same time, some issues can be gray. And we need to identify these issues that are hard to find answers to. Or perhaps questions that simply don’t have any answers. We need to look at the question from the other person’s perspective. Maybe the other person disagreeing with us has a true, valid point. Maybe they don’t. The key here is to investigate. I wish to drive the point of self-honesty. I will make it a separate article, but I’m sure you get the point. Simply put, let’s let the truth be what it is. Let’s be at peace with the truth, even if it shakes our foundation in life.
So, what’s the answer here? We will look at both the Apostle Paul as well as Jesus. Paul had dealt with many disagreements of his day — whether it be with Barnabas or between the two churches in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s stance was the same with Jesus. That although we have disagreements in the church, we are united together through Christ. That doesn’t mean to go join a cult that obviously disagrees with the foundation of Christianity. But perhaps the Baptist church down the street isn’t as bad as we think, even though they listen to heavy metal in their church. In other words, let’s be smart about this. Want another example? Let’s look at Jesus in John 17:20–23. Jesus prays that the church be one, despite our disagreements. So as Christians, let’s all come together. To admit that some faith issues are in-fact black and white. And others are simply gray. We may never know what stance we take until we meet Jesus himself face-to-face. The lesson here is we can come together because of the one foundation belief: that Jesus is who He claimed to be. So let us be at peace. Let the church disagree. And at the same time, let the church be one. Just as Jesus was one with his heavenly father.
God bless.