What if being culture current or relevant simply meant loving the person in front of you no matter who it is? What if being radical meant that you volunteered to walk with that person through life's hardest times - even if they were different from you - even if they believed differently than you?
If we call that ministry, and I do, then we can say that is the worldview we expose. Right?
Well just like any other worldview - it has to hold water. We can't be operating with a broken vision of that. Quite frankly if we are picking who we are in front of all the time then, in effect, we are picking who we love. That leads to a breakdown of that whole philosophy of ministry and living.
We need to keep in mind that our churches should in a big way reflect that. It should show the world our tendency as Christians to love with a broadstroke no matter who is in our midst, or who we are in the midst of.
But, we need to remember that also means genuinely practicing that concept. In other words if you don't reflect 3 dimensional diversity in your life - then you need to take a hard look at what motivates you. 3 dimensional diversity = diversity in culture (race, generation), age, and income. A failure to pursue any of these areas denotes a break from the worldview mentioned above.
If you are a Christian, that also applies to whatever you may think of your Christian brothers and sisters and whatever church or denomination they may represent. You have to show them the same grace, acceptance, love, and understanding that you would to someone who is lost or yet to discover who God is. In truth, you have to show them more. It's scriptural to love the family you belong to. After all, she is hand picked by Christ - chosen by God to be his own tool for loving mankind.
We need to be building our churches on these concepts.
No generational favoritism - either way (old, young, poor, rich).
Love who you are with - walk with them - lead them, if they will let you.
Remember - Jesus had dinner many times with the sinners and the pharisees questioned him as to why. Most people overlook something though - that means the pharisees were at dinner too!
2 comments:
I like how you think. The "church" historically has made being a Christian difficult at best, with all the focus being on the rules and what goes on inside the building. Discovering the truth, that we are to just love the person standing in front of us and all the Kingdom to touch their lives through us, is so free-ing! Thanks for putting it in print.
Thanks for that...... I think it's freeing as well. At least seems easier that way huh?
Post a Comment