It has been said by many that we are always witnesses—one
way or the other. Either our life attracts people to Jesus through the light of
a transformed life, or it repels people because it claims something that it doesn’t
deliver.
We need to ask whether our lives and churches are like a dark and oppressive forest to those who "know not the way?" It seems that so many of the people that I talk to that are
antagonistic towards the church have been exposed to someone who was, in their
view, an offensively negative witness. At the same time, those who are in the church may see
those people who are angry and hurt as merely twisting things to justify their
own sin. There is probably truth in both positions. What if we learned to look
for the big picture in the lives of those we meet? What if we took the time to
listen to the other person’s story and appreciate their suffering in a manifestation
of the love of Christ? There would probably be fewer people angry and turned
off at the church. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote from a Nazi prison,
We need to ask whether our lives and churches are like a dark and oppressive forest to those who "know not the way?" It seems that so many of the people that I talk to that are
antagonistic towards the church have been exposed to someone who was, in their
view, an offensively negative witness. At the same time, those who are in the church may see
those people who are angry and hurt as merely twisting things to justify their
own sin. There is probably truth in both positions. What if we learned to look
for the big picture in the lives of those we meet? What if we took the time to
listen to the other person’s story and appreciate their suffering in a manifestation
of the love of Christ? There would probably be fewer people angry and turned
off at the church. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote from a Nazi prison,
We must
learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and
more in the light of what they suffer. The only profitable relationship to
others - and especially to our weaker brethren - is one of love, and that means
the will to hold fellowship with them. God himself did not despise humanity,
but became man for men’s sake.[1]
Last week’s post ended with me asking three fairly pointed
questions,
- Do we bear a family resemblance to Joseph and to Jesus? If we are going to be positive witnesses then it will be because people can see, hear, and feel Jesus in our lives.
- Where do we fit in the big picture plan of God? We know that he has called us to be a part of the plan though we may not know all the details. It may involve waiting, as well as suffering, and rejection at the hands of those we are trying to reach. It may not be a place of power and prominence, but rather a place in the margins, but why should we expect better than Jesus? He has given us an opportunity to share in the fellowship of his suffering so that we can also share in his comfort.
- He has a place for us. Will we embrace it? Jesus said that he who saves his own life will lose it and he who loses his life will save it. Yet we too often prefer to trust in our own efforts rather than trust in Christ. We self-medicate in a thousand different ways and yet can never heal ourselves from the sickness of sin. Only Jesus can do that.
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| Vines on a Kibutz in Israel |
“I believe
that God can and will bring good out of evil, even out of the greatest evil.
For that purpose, he needs men who make the best use of everything. I believe
that God will give us all the strength we need to help us to resist in all time[s] of distress. But he never gives it in advance, lest we should rely on ourselves
and not on him alone. A faith such as this should allay all our fears for the
future. I believe that even our mistakes
and shortcomings are turned to good account, and that it is no harder for God
to deal with them than with our supposedly good deeds. I believe that God
is no timeless fate, but that he waits for and answers sincere prayers and
responsible actions.” [2]
We're not out of the woods yet... though Jesus knows the way!
Perhaps trusting God together is the big picture.
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (2011-05-10). Letters and Papers from Prison (Kindle Locations 224-227). Touchstone. Kindle Edition.
We're not out of the woods yet... though Jesus knows the way!
Perhaps trusting God together is the big picture.
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (2011-05-10). Letters and Papers from Prison (Kindle Locations 224-227). Touchstone. Kindle Edition.
[2] Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, (Kindle Locations
244-249).
My prayer is that in what ever I do, that I would be an example of Christ.
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