In the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians he talks of 'becoming all things to all people for the sake of the gospel.' His desire was to do whatever it took to win people for Christ... and I find myself wondering how well do I reflect this desire and attitude? If I'm honest, I'd probably have to say - not very well and not very often.
My reality is that I often want God to use me just as I am... so that I don't have to move from my place of comfort and do something that stretches me beyond what feels natural and safe.
A good example of this is a current restructuring project of one of our weekly worship services. For the past few years we've taken an approach that has felt natural and been very comfortable - for me... but it hasn't been as well received as we would have hoped. This has caused our team to do some intentional assessment of this program (among others), and to re-exegete our campus, to assure that what we are offering our students is actually inline with where they are at (more so than where we might want them to be - right now).
Paul never said anything about reaching 'them' to leave them in that place... in fact, his intentions were quite clear. He desired to win them to Christ! To bring them to the place where he was... again, I hear his call to, "follow me as I follow Christ!"
Paul went where he had to go, and did what he had to do, in order to win people for Christ. Am I willing to do the same? Even if it means living in an uncomfortable place? Doing uncomfortable things?
Are you?
I'd love to hear what you think.
- In what ways does your position challenge you to be 'someone you're not'?
- How regularly are you willing to go outside of what's comfortable?
- What are you willing to do in order to win students for Christ?
Thanks, in advance, for sharing.
