Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Great Responsibility for The Great Controversy

At a church small group earlier this week, a middle-aged member approached me with a book in her hand.  "This was in my mailbox today.  Have you heard of it?"

Fortunately I had.  "Yes."

"Is it any good?" she asked.

"No," I said solemnly.

She walked over to a trash can and threw it in.

Wow, I thought, that was fast!

When I had time to reflect more on our brief encounter, I was both thankful and sobered.  I was thankful that I had previously read up on The Great Controversy by Ellen White and knew it contains heretical teaching.  I also had read that the Seventh Day Adventist Church is doing a major campaign to mail millions of copies of this book to American homes this year.  I was thankful to be asked a question to which I knew the answer. 

I was also sobered by the trust this woman placed in my judgment.  The Holy Spirit gives Christians many different gifts, but we all have responsibility to help each other avoid sin and follow the truth.  Which means we all (even "smart" people like me!) need to seek help and counsel from others.  Following Jesus was never meant to be a solo sport.

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