Misconceptions can lead Christians along mistaken paths

Religion Columnist

While at an airport in another country recently I noticed an airplane being serviced by an airline catering company truck having a nine-celled red and white checkerboard like the trademark used by Ralston-Purina, a widely known pet and livestock feed company. You can imagine my first thought – “I know what those people are having for dinner and I’m glad a meal wasn’t included in either of my flights with that airline.”

I’m convinced that my thought that the airline catering company was loading pet or livestock feed was a misperception because that’s not the right kind of nutrition for humans. Although most pet foods use ingredients people eat every day, the combination and proportions aren’t the same, which could lead to nutritional deficiencies, such as anemia. I perceive it’s also possible that the plane would be transporting horses to their next race.

Anyway, lack of a proper diet of scripture leads to growth problems for Christians and can keep one from being a Christian altogether. This is why there’re so many denominations teaching different ways or that there’re many ways for us to approach God, which is a huge misperception. Those who want to worship God must come to him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Since the word “spirit” in John 4:24 isn’t capitalized, I perceive that it means my spirit, or attitude, rather than to being “in the Holy Spirit,” as in Revelation 1:10, where John was likely referring to the vision he described in the rest of that book.

Anyway, we must have the right attitude and find out what pleases God before we approach him (Ephesians 5:8-10). Instead of becoming anemic Christians who don’t know what to stand for, we need a balanced diet of scripture to know that Jesus specified only one way that’s based on the one truth that leads to the only possible life one can have in God’s presence (John 14:6). Through Paul, God told the Ephesians that Christian unity is based in the one Father, the one Lord (Jesus), and the one Spirit to whom we’ve come through the one baptism out of the one faith so that we could have the one hope in the one body (no denominations here; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 4:17; 7:17; 14:34). When we study the word and follow its teachings, we can approach God with confidence (1 John 5:13; Hebrews 10:19-23; 4:16).

By the way, Ralston-Purina was the originator of many of America’s favorite foods, including the cereals that go into the popular holiday snack mix. And if that airline catering company was owned by Ralston-Purina, those passengers might’ve gotten that popular snack mix for their inflight snack, while I was eating my heart out with every bite of my inflight snack (imagine pretzels with all the salt knocked off).

Don’t be misled, by what you see or are taught. Be sure you have no misperceptions about salvation so you won’t be eating your heart out for eternity. You can know the truth (John 8:31-32).

Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan. Contact him at [email protected]