Years ago a friend of mine and I were heading to a conference when I spotted a beautiful Volvo sedan in a car lot by the highway. As it happened, I was in the market for a used car, so I pulled in. Before long we were sitting inside of it. Not long after that we were out on a test drive, speeding down a country road with the sunroof open and the radio blaring. I was in Swedish heaven!
I've always loved Volvos. I had a navy blue Volvo 164e for a couple years when I started college. It was built like a tank and incredibly roomy inside. I saved up all the money I made one summer and put in a fantastic stereo with six speakers. It was like a concert hall! Were it not for the poor gas mileage - about 12-15 mpg, and that’s with the AC off - I might have kept it a lot longer.
I told my friend about where Volvo's were made (Gothenburg, Sweden). I praised the beautiful yet functional design of the dash. I pointed out the supple brown Swedish leather on the seats and said, "See how good they look! This stuff lasts forever.” We talked about the fact that Volvos are known for their safety and how they say that life expectancy had increased 37% in Sweden simply because so many people drove them.
I explained that, before he became James Bond, Roger Moore drove a Volvo P1800 in his television series, The Saint.
I pointed out their near-indestructibility and noted that the Guinness World Record for highest vehicle mileage on a personal car belonged to a man by the name of Irving Gordon who had a Volvo P1800 with over a million miles on it.
By the way, that Volvo P1800 still holds the record. Only now, it has over 3,000,000 miles! And No. 3 on the list of personal cars with the highest vehicle mileage is also a Volvo — a 1979 Volvo 245 GL wagon with 1.6 million miles.
After a while, I turned to my friend and asked him, “So what do you think? Should I buy it?”
He said, “I can tell that you love the look of the car, and the design, and the Swedish heritage and all that. Do you know what I see?”
I said, “No. What do you see?”
He said, "I see a car with high mileage, expensive maintenance, and no warranty. I would run.”
Needless to say, I didn’t buy the Volvo.
After that I turned my attention to the other Swedish brand, Saab. And, no, that didn’t work out any better.
But it just goes to show that not everyone sees things alike. To me, owning that Volvo would have tied me to that company’s wonderful history and been a great experience. To my friend, it was a risky buy on a used car and a sure threat to empty my wallet.
When it comes to things like automobiles it’s ok that we don’t see eye to eye. It’s when we get to the important stuff that our differences of opinion begin to matter.
Of course, what’s “important” to one person is trivial to another. What might seem like a small matter to one is a big deal to someone else. That’s the problem: distinguishing between what is central and what is peripheral.
At present, there are more than 200 Christian denominations in the U.S. The reason there are so many denominations is simple: no two of them see eye to eye. Each one is different. Some of the differences in doctrine and worship and church polity are slight. Many of them are major.
The Bible has always had a formula for Christian unity. It’s found in Ephesians 4:3-5 —
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. {4} There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; {5} one Lord, one faith, one baptism; {6} one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
That’s God’s formula for Christian unity. We just refuse to use it.
If we could all agree on just those things — the “Seven Ones” — there would be great unity among those who claim to follow Christ.
There is one body.
There is one Spirit.
There is one hope of our calling.
There is one Lord.
There is one faith.
There is one baptism.
There is one God.
Just think of what we could accomplish if all Christians were united along those lines. Think of the good that we could do! Think of the influence for good we would have. Think of how many souls could be saved! Think of the lives that could be saved.
But to reach that level of agreement we’re going to have to listen to one another. And open our Bibles. And open our minds! As a people, we seem to have a problem with that right now. Which is one reason why we are more divided than ever.
If there is to be unity we must learn to listen to one another. More importantly, we must listen to God’s Word and allow Scripture to have the final say in all things. Too often we allow our traditions, preferences and biases to have the final say.
I’m glad I listened to my friend that day. He was right. That old Volvo would have cost me a fortune in the long run.
It’s good to listen to others and take in differing viewpoints. It’s even better when we listen to God and respect His authority.
American Christianity needs a lot more of both.