salt-shaker.blog

How many of your friends think they deserve eternal punishment? How many believe that Jesus was a great moral influence but not necessarily the sole gateway to eternity? As believers, what is our responsibility to them? How do we engage?

These are difficult questions because the answers are at once clear and unclear, difficult and simple – depending on the framework from which we respond. Culture and the natural impulse for self-preservation would call for affirming our neighbors’ right to their own version of truth. Our devotion to Jesus calls us to prioritize Him and His kingdom if we are to reflect true love for people around us. ‘The fear of man is a snare, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’

Jesus’ example was to heal, comfort and feed. We embrace that part of discipleship – helping the poor, feeding the hungry, being the caring neighbor. But He also challenged this world’s values and called for repentance – the part we resist. And for good reason! Look where it got Him! This puts us in a hard place as disciples. Church goers don’t worry about it that much. Money to the missions or volunteering at the shelter is enough – a good work for sure. But Jesus sent His friends out with power – not just power to heal, but power to preach. This is not an elusive ethereal truth. It is the concrete call to ‘come and die’, setting His kingdom priorities above our natural impulse to avoid conflict. “It is sometimes easier to bear a great load for Christ than a small one. Some of us could be martyrs at the stake more easily than confessors among sneering neighbors.” (Maclaren)

There are several ways to deflect this responsibility. We are easily persuaded that others are called to evangelize – it is not our gift. Besides that, we have our eternal destiny nailed down, so let’s concentrate on perfecting our own holiness. Much of what we call Christianity has settled there. I propose that this does not reflect the heart of Jesus. His disciples followed Him for just a short time before He sent them to expel demons and announce His kingdom. They were far from perfect or completely versed in the nuances of eternity.

Our king left an indelible impression on humanity and an unmistakable example for us to follow. His strategy was to selflessly do the will of Another in His proclamation and demonstration of God’s impending Kingdom. We can err on the side of proclamation alone or solely on service. Doubtlessly we will err in some respect, but we cannot let fear paralyze us. A huge fear obstacle is bearing reproach – not of Christ, but of ohers’ misplaced fervency. We must resist (and forgive) to reverse the mistakes of our brethren whose zeal misrepresented Him (and us). (Remember the disciples wanting to call down fire on ‘unauthorized’ messengers?) Their blunders cannot be our excuse.

We must also do the hard work of finding God’s perspective about the issues facing those we seek to persuade. Without thoughtful consideration we will be more likely to diminish their precious souls by objectifying them – making them a project or ‘duty targets’ for truth. As we lay these issues out before the One Who will not chide or refuse our requests for wisdom, we may begin to recognize our own selfish failings and be called to repentance in the process. This will bring the humility necessary to wrap the truth in love – both ours and God’s. Most importantly we must listen before and while we act. But act we must. Speak we must. Our neighbors’ eternity could depend on our willingness to speak.

Last but certainly not least, we must also face the possibility that perhaps reluctance comes from our own uncertainty about what the truth is. Here is a difficult but necessary challenge to search our own souls, to be painfully transparent before God. How convinced are we really? Jesus embarrassed and confounded His followers many times. In fact, He asks us as He asked them – “Will you too go away?”.

There are many excuses to avoid being a kingdom ambassador. One can rationalize and spiritualize away the demands of Jesus on His followers. We have access to many lofty treatises that restrict Jesus’ teachings to mere good works, or that expound the ‘correct’ position of making your religion a personal matter between you and God, or drip with disdain for proselytizing others with our idea of truth. Human wisdom calls for discretion, moderation, tolerance and privacy. To abandon the perishing for our own protection and leave them at the mercy of the ravenous lying wolves is reprehensible. Yes, this is uncomfortable. It is risky. It is scary. From the world’s perspective it is abrasive and judgmental. The Bible even calls it foolish. Let us gather courage and rest on the power of God to bring Jesus’ message of hope to an increasingly hopeless world. Change eternity with your mouth. Win opportunity with your love.

“For people who are stumbling toward ruin, the message of the cross is nothing but a tall tale for fools by a fool. But for those of us who are already experiencing the reality of being rescued and made right, it is nothing short of God’s power.This is why the Scripture says: I will put an end to the wisdom of the so-called wise, and I will invalidate the insight of your so-called experts. So now, where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the skilled debater, the best of your time? Step up, if you dare. Hasn’t God made fools out of those who count on the wisdom of this rebellious, broken world? For in God’s deep wisdom, He made it so that the world could not even begin to comprehend Him through its own style of wisdom; in fact, God took immense pleasure in rescuing people of faith through the foolishness of the message we preach. It seems the Jews are always asking for signs and the Greeks are always on the prowl for wisdom. But we tell a different story. We proclaim a crucified Jesus, God’s Anointed. For Jews this is scandalous, for outsiders this is moronic, but for those of us living out God’s call—regardless of our Jewish or Greek heritage—we know that Jesus embodies God’s dynamic power and God’s deep wisdom.You can count on this: God’s foolishness will always be wiser than mere human wisdom, and God’s weakness will always be stronger than mere human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 V

Selah! (a voluntary and intentional pause for reflection) And Shalom! (complete and pervasive peace)