Truth and Winking Frogs

She came bounding into the playroom, then stood to study Ben's handiwork for a while.  "Ben, can I play with your Winking Frogs too?"

He stared at her for a moment, trying to muster the patience of a wise older brother.  "No, Abigail.  It's not Winking Frogs.  It's Link and Wogs...But yes, you can play with those over there."

(Sadly, Lincoln Log City was unable to recover from massive a natural disaster that occurred yesterday afternoon.  Reconstruction efforts will commence shortly.)

Maybe my world is small.  Maybe my thinking skews a bit odd.  But, sometimes the playroom becomes a microcosm of events that reflect on a larger scale.  Both of my children believe they are completely right and justified in the way they named said Lincoln Logs.  Both of them got their point across to the other, in a way. (They shared enough common ground to realize they both wanted the same thing.)  But both of them still think the other is completely wrong.  Yet, the true name for the Lincoln Logs has been lost to both of them. Truth lies sandwiched in between two sides of the argument.

American Christianity is fractured by the liberals and the conservatives.  American politics is divided amongst republicans and democrats.  Our playroom is bigger and the stakes are much higher.  But we are pulled  between two poles, convinced there must be a monopoly on who is right and who is wrong.  The more I walk in the Way the more I can see a radical (and at times uncomfortable) reality.  Truth lies sandwiched in between two sides of the argument.   

A third path exists.  Political leaders with shady personal lives still manage to lead, and to worship.   Look at King David.   Religious change agents who break established norms still do so for God's kingdom.  Look at Jesus.  We may be comfortable in our thinking.  We may even be convinced that we are in the right.  But when we look again, Truth lies sandwiched between two sides of the argument.