Herein is Love Part 9

Proposals for the reunion of the churches often arouse the fear that our respective denominations, to which we are devoted, will be replaced by what some conceive of as a "superchurch." Such an arbitrary replacement of church organization is not the objective of the unity movement.

Instead, we should respond to the Spirit's prompting to keep our denominational loyalties subject to our loyalty to Him, in order that we may be open to whatever form of church life and action the Spirit may indicate for our generation. We are concerned about the church as the body of Christ in our time. As His body, we must find our unity in Him; but this may mean that we shall have to abandon some things that have seemed good. Some words of our Lord are hard to bear: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me."[23] These words of our Lord are equally applicable to all other relationships, including our denominational ones. It does not follow, however, that our denominational devotion is of itself disloyal to Christ, any more than our devotion to our loved ones is disloyal. We do need, however, to make sure that we love and serve Him, and not something or someone else. Our concepts of ourselves and of others may need to be changed.

The changing of these images of ourselves and of others is not a responsibility that belongs only to our top-level church leaders. Every Christian in every church in every part of the world must share it, because each person has a specific responsibility for his relationship with his Christian brothers, by whatever name they may call themselves.

The parent who seeks to exercise his ministry in his relationship with his child needs also to be open to his responsibility as a member of some historic branch of the Christian church for the welfare of that church and the relationship of its separate parts. We cannot accept what we have inherited in the form in which we inherited it. Our inheritance in many ways is precious and wonderful, but our human response can deform it. Our church can be a means of fulfilling our discipleship, but it can also be an obstacle to it. Therefore, our membership and partic.i.p.ation in a denomination needs to be kept under the constant judgment of G.o.d in order that we as members may serve Him more loyally.

We are Christ's, brought into this relationship by His love, and we can grow in this relationship only as we are guided by His Spirit.

Everything else is secondary to this. But all other relationships, if offered to Him and illumined and corrected by His Spirit, can be wonderful also, because then they too become a part of His means of reuniting, by His love, men with one another and with Him.

"In this is love, not that we loved G.o.d but that he loved us and sent his Son.... We love, because he first loved us."[24]

[21] John 4:5 ff.

[22] Luke 10:25 ff.

[23] Matt. 10:37.

[24] 1 John 4:10, 19.

about the author

Reuel Lanphier Howe is recognized as one of the foremost counselors in America in the field of personal relationships. The authoritative conclusions growing out of his research are presented in this book with earnestness and understanding.

He was born in the state of Washington and received his B.A. degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla. From the Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, he received the degrees of S.T.B., S.T.M., and S.T.D. He was ordained in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1929 and 1930. Whitman College and the Chicago Theological Seminary have each honored him with the D.D. degree.

In 1931 he became Vicar of St. Stephen's Church, Elsmere, N.Y. Then, for about twenty years, he was on the faculties of the Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, and the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia. In both of these situations he developed a program of clinical pastoral training to prepare the clergy to minister to the needs of people. He has served on many important committees and boards and has lectured extensively, both in America and abroad.

Presently he is the director of the Inst.i.tute for Advanced Pastoral Studies, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., a postordination training center for ministers of various denominations who have been in the ministry for at least three years. He takes part in many significant educational programs outside his denomination. One of Dr. Howe's major interests is in the correlation of the insights of theology with those of the social and medical sciences. The enthusiasm with which his lectures and books have been received points to his popularity as a thinker and writer.