Hearing, Learning, & Loving

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.  When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ.  When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law.  Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law.  When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ.  But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.  When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ.  Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.  I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.                                      1 Corinthians 9:19-23

The WHY of apostle Paul’s living a somewhat chameleon-like life, blending-in with every sort of different person, nationality, or social status, was his learned ability to love.  It was so important to Paul to treat others with an open, loving heart, he virtually gave himself to others, so that he would have the opportunity to introduce them to Christ. 

Paul changed; he was no longer a fire-breathing zealot on a crusade to destroy everything related to Jesus Christ.[1]  In place of the old Saul, there was now the new, loving Paul who would literally give his life to bring others to Christ.[2]  Why the shift?  Jesus confronted Paul in the middle of his holacaust work of destroying the church, and taught him to love, because he was loved.  In the process, Paul couldn’t get enough of loving others.  Real Christianity is contagious!

Finding common ground with others is how you learn to love the unlovable.  You cannot do that when you’re unwilling to hear others with the receptive ear that helps you learn who they are, underneath, in their being, and understanding what wakes them up in the middle of the night with the cold sweats.  If you’re serious about sharing the love of Christ, that someone else might know Christ, and find eternal life, you cannot engage in screaming matches, or massive campaigns to exclude people from your life.  In short, you just can’t be afraid of others who are different…you must hear them, and understand them, so you can love them.

There’s an old idea that just doesn’t ring true for me, that dogs will chase cats because dogs hate cats.  Well, my daughter’s pets didn’t get that memo.  Boomer, the huge Mastiff, has gotten quite used to Carrie’s feline borders, Smith & Wesson.  In the picture you see just how close a 100-pound Mastiff can relate to a 7-pound kitty he could have for lunch.  It wasn’t always that way.  Whenever Boomer came into a room, Wesson used to run for the nearest place the hound couldn’t reach.  Little by little that changed.  Now they even play together.  Somewhere along the line, they began hearing each other out…listening, and learning…and now loving.   

Boomer is still a dog…a big, drooling mess of a mush, incapable of not being loved.  Wesson is still a mischievous feline, climbing-on anything high, jumping-off anything dangerously placed, and squeezing-in any tight spot (especially if there’s a slight trace of food to be had).  Neither of them have changed species; but now they play together…and they’re both the better for it.

For You Today

Learn Paul, Boomer, and Wesson’s lessons…listen, learn, love – and play nice!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Living in a Dumpster and When Tolerance Grows Up into Spiritual Maturity

[1] Images:  via Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] See Acts 9

[2] See Romans 9:3

Finding Common Ground

[1]

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.  When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ.  When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law.  Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law.  When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ.  But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.  When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ.  Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.  I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.         1 Corinthians 9:19-23

The Apostle Paul was brilliant.  Even in a cursory reading of his letters you cannot miss the way God used the intricate and deep mind of Paul to communicate complex spiritual principles in ways that drive the point home to even the most uncomplicated reader.  At the same time there is depth that can keep you exploring for decades what God gave him to write.

Paul was not only intelligent; he was very persuasive and found himself in a position of power.  Prior to his  conversion to Christ and because of his impressive pedigree as a scholar and his connectedness within the ruling class, Paul had been so trusted by the rulers of Jerusalem he was commissioned to put a stop to the spread of Christianity; he was even empowered to imprison Christians, which often led to their deaths.  That all turned around on the Road to Damascus when Paul met Jesus.[2]  Suddenly Paul’s strength turned to weakness, which God then used to impact the whole world .

Paul could be caustic and borderline obnoxious with his strong will and being not at all shy about confronting somebody.  Several times in Scripture we find Paul in hot debate with those whose wobbly conviction needed some correction.

But we find in today’s reading the mysterious opposite of being dogmatic and confrontational; today we see the convivial warmth of someone who cared enough about others to keep his mouth shut at the right times.  Paul understood what it was to be filled with power, and what it meant to be blind and helpless.  As such he also understood what is needful for a witness of grace to take hold in another’s life.  Identification!  Paul understood that for someone’s faith to be helped along to receive saving grace, the person who witnesses must learn to be with, not just talk-at a person. 

Many years ago, as a young believer I was being “taught” how to witness.  George took me to a home where an elderly couple lived.  They’d recently moved to our community and visited our church.  They welcomed us in, and George began his memorized and rehearsed speech before we even sat down on the couch.  For the next twenty minutes he led them down the Roman Road eventually coming to the point where it was now or never for their eternal security.  Were they going to say “yes” or “no” to God?  The whole debacle made me feel so uncomfortable watching how uncomfortable the old couple were, squirming on their seats.  I wanted to rush over to them and give them a hug.  But the old man simply said, I think we’ll think about that.  The next twenty minutes or so, George put on the most amazing display of browbeating someone to the altar I’d ever seen.  The man and woman finally caved, joined George on their knees at the coffee table altar and followed his direction to pray the sinner’s prayer.  Five minutes later we were in the car headed home.  While driving George asked, wasn’t that great?  I had an answer, but God gave me grace not to pull the trigger.  The couple never darkened the doorstep of our church again.

For You Today

For too many of us we err on the exact opposite of the abrasive George method – we fail to open our mouths at all.  Perhaps it would be different if we took the time to learn how to share our faith, but also took the time to get to know about, and care for those to whom we’d witness.  Then the sharing would be natural, and something led by the Spirit, as opposed to claiming another evangelistic scalp to list on the church membership rolls!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com     Unless noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

[2] Acts 9