Why Do Christians Seem So Divided At Times?

Christians are people who have desires and expectations that many times guide them in their decision making, which can be the opposite of what another Christian desires or expects.

Many times a Christian's expectations may be based on godly desires, or they may be rooted in carnal desires. It depends on what level of faith a Christian is walking in, and the severity of a trial they may be experiencing.

In Ephesians 4:1-3 the Holy Spirit tells us to "...walk worthy of the vocation by which you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace".

The problem arises when we don't listen to the Spirit. When some one doesn't believe exactly like we do, or has a different plan than ours, many times we get upset. This is where divisions take place in the body of Christ, or in other words, among believers.

Sometimes people are in a certain phase of their growth and begin acknowledging and speaking of things from the Spirit but aren't yet in the place of repenting or walking it out. Instead of speaking the truth in love to them as Ephesians 4:15 says, we judge may judge them and thereby create division.

According to Ephesians 4:7, "Everyone of of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ". This means we understand what we understand based on the measure of Christ God has given us. Those measures are not all the same, as written in 1 Corinthians 12:6, "There are a variety of gifts but the same Spirit. There are differences of administrations but the same Lord. There are a variety of operations but it is the same God which works all in all".

When Christians lose sight of these differences, which are administered by the Holly Spirit, we may become divided, not realizing that those things which may seem to oppose our faith are actually beneficial to it. Sometimes the very things we so adamantly disagree with are the the very things that are there to give us the opportunity to exercise our faith.

However, if we are not walking in the spirit of unity and love, we may find ourselves opposing one another in an evil way rather than a holy way.