I am a Bible geek. I never tire of studying the Bible, its symbolism, and its interpretations. My favorite seminary class was Apologetics. It has nothing to do with "apologizing" and everything to do with defending the Christian faith.
I wholeheartedly believe that the Christian worldview is the only one that can fully and satisfactorily answer the big questions of life...How did we get here? What is the meaning of life? What happens when we die? And so forth. Discussing these big questions and various worldviews fascinates me.
And yet, another question is rising up: How does the ability to know and articulate the Christian response to these questions help me love others better?
1 Corinthians 13:2 states, "If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing." As much as I love to learn and as much as I enjoy dissecting and articulating answers to the big questions of life, if my goal is proving knowledge to the neglect of loving others, regardless of their worldview, I am nothing.
Recently I've shared the devastation that divisiveness worked in my teenage years. And it's easy enough to glance around and see the dominance of divisiveness in our world today.
People want to be right. We seek the mic drop moment when we put our opponents to shame and prove our "rightness."
But all the "rightness" in the world falls short in comparison to God's love flowing through us to others. This love isn't selfish, amorous, or fluffy. This love is...
Enduring
Patient
Kind
Thoughtful
Secure
Generous
Righteous
Empathetic
Compassionate
Strong
Humble
Steadfast
Unbreakable
Is your love like that? Is mine? I can say with some certainty that none of us have fully arrived at manifesting this level of love on any consistent basis. But this is the goal, the gold-standard.
Does the study of Apologetics matter? Absolutely. Jesus calls us to become and to make students who wholeheartedly follow Him, teaching one another everything He taught His original students (Matthew 28:20).
But this should never be done to the neglect of God-defined Love.
So, when I have an opportunity to speak with someone who holds a different worldview from mine, beginning, ending, and filling my responses to them through this lens of love is the highest goal. After all, our purpose on this planet isn't to prove ourselves right. Our purpose is to love and serve God and others and represent Jesus, the greatest manifested Love of all time, to everyone we encounter.