I want to encourage you to walk across the street and meet someone new. Make a friend. Expose yourself. Make yourself vulnerable. Humble yourself. Place others ahead of you. Meet their needs ahead of your own. Why would I suggest a thing? In hopes of sharing the message of a living faith, that is Jesus Christ. Earn their respect and trust, while modeling for them a changed life in Christ Jesus. In a world that is focused on self and ego, do the opposite. Love them. Bring to the table: encouragement, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness. I believe that this is what Christ did when He chose to eat a meal with them. When He chose to carry on conversations that religious leaders chose to not engage. Christ met a basic human need: acceptance. He did not leave them in their sin, but lovingly pointed them to the Gospel in hopes of redemption. Forgiveness of sin.
It seems today that we are facing two options: resign them to hell or love them to hell. Yet, we have a third option, the one that Christ gave us. Love them enough to teach the truth. I say we, the church, ought to take up the mantle that Christ gave us and love them enough to teach the truth. It may not be popular. It may not be acceptable to society standards. It may go against the political correctness model, but it is the way that Christ lived.
So the next time you encounter one of the many forgotten by society or church, speak kind words. Offer a cup of cold water. Offer a set of clothes. Offer a warm meal. Offer your friendship. You may just be surprised that a smile will often be treated with a smile. All the while gaining trust to share the greatest message: Christ loved you enough to die on a cross. I believe that is a message worth sharing, no matter how difficult to gain an audience.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Go Fish!
In his book In the Eye
of the Storm, Max Lucado tells about something that happened to him while
he was in high school. Every year, he and his family used to go fishing during
spring break. But one year, his brother and his mom couldn’t go, so his dad let
him invite a friend.
They looked forward to this vacation with great anticipation. They pictured the sun shining down on them as they sat in the boat in the middle of the lake. The yank of the rod and the spin of the reel as they wrestled the bass into the boat. The smell of fish frying in a skillet over an open fire. They could hardly wait. Finally spring break arrived, they loaded the camper and set out for the lake.
They arrived at night, set up the camper and went to bed anxious to get up the next morning and go fishing. But that night, a northeaster blew through. The wind was so strong they could barely open the door of the camper the next morning. The sky was gray. The lake was choppy. There was no way they could fish in that weather.
"No problem," they said. They could spend the day in the camper. They had brought Monopoly and Reader’s Digest. They knew a few jokes. It wasn’t what they came to do, but they would make the best of it and fish the next day. So they passed the day indoors. The hours passed slowly but they did pass. Night finally came and they crawled into their sleeping bags dreaming of fishing.
The next morning it wasn’t the wind that made the door hard to open, it was the ice! They tried to be cheerful. "No problem," they said. "We can play Monopoly...again. We can reread the stories in Reader’s Digest. And surely we know another joke or two." But they weren’t nearly as cheerful about it all.
And as the day went on, they began to get more and more irritable and edgy. It was a long day and a long night. The next morning, when they awoke to the sound of sleet hitting the roof, they didn’t even pretend to be cheerful. They were flat-out grumpy. They sat in misery the whole day, their fishing equipment still unpacked.
The next day was even colder and they finally headed home. But Max says that he learned an important lesson that week. Not about fishing, but about people. He writes, "When those who are called to fish don’t fish, they fight. When energy intended to be used outside is used inside, the result is explosive. Instead of casting nets, we cast stones...Instead of being fishers of the lost, we become critics of the saved."
They looked forward to this vacation with great anticipation. They pictured the sun shining down on them as they sat in the boat in the middle of the lake. The yank of the rod and the spin of the reel as they wrestled the bass into the boat. The smell of fish frying in a skillet over an open fire. They could hardly wait. Finally spring break arrived, they loaded the camper and set out for the lake.
They arrived at night, set up the camper and went to bed anxious to get up the next morning and go fishing. But that night, a northeaster blew through. The wind was so strong they could barely open the door of the camper the next morning. The sky was gray. The lake was choppy. There was no way they could fish in that weather.
"No problem," they said. They could spend the day in the camper. They had brought Monopoly and Reader’s Digest. They knew a few jokes. It wasn’t what they came to do, but they would make the best of it and fish the next day. So they passed the day indoors. The hours passed slowly but they did pass. Night finally came and they crawled into their sleeping bags dreaming of fishing.
The next morning it wasn’t the wind that made the door hard to open, it was the ice! They tried to be cheerful. "No problem," they said. "We can play Monopoly...again. We can reread the stories in Reader’s Digest. And surely we know another joke or two." But they weren’t nearly as cheerful about it all.
And as the day went on, they began to get more and more irritable and edgy. It was a long day and a long night. The next morning, when they awoke to the sound of sleet hitting the roof, they didn’t even pretend to be cheerful. They were flat-out grumpy. They sat in misery the whole day, their fishing equipment still unpacked.
The next day was even colder and they finally headed home. But Max says that he learned an important lesson that week. Not about fishing, but about people. He writes, "When those who are called to fish don’t fish, they fight. When energy intended to be used outside is used inside, the result is explosive. Instead of casting nets, we cast stones...Instead of being fishers of the lost, we become critics of the saved."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)