daily java

Daily Java: Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

There is a built-in difficulty in being a child of God and especially in being a pastor. You have absolute freedom in Jesus, yet you are a slave to everyone.

You have freedom in Jesus. The Bible tells you that over and over. The new covenant is not one of laws. The whole book of Romans tries to make that abundantly clear. We are not judged by what we do, we are judged by who we are. If we are in the Lamb’s Book of Life, it is because our name is recorded, not our actions. As long as we are in Christ, we are holy and we are saved.

But – and as Shakespeare said, there is the rub – we have responsibility. That’s a hard thing, responsibility. We have the mandate to tell others about God and the grace of our Lord Jesus.

This means that we do stuff to do so. We become like others if by doing so we are able to tell them.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we join a bank robbery gang and rob banks so that the bank robbers will listen to our message. There is a limit to what we can do.

I have known people who have gotten in serious trouble by doing wrong things under the idea of “trying to reach others.” What they did was do what they wanted and pretended it was to be an evangelist to some group.

I knew of a young man who was going to get a lot of tattoos and a very fast car (a Shelby Cobra) because he wanted to minister to drug dealers and pimps. He figured that the tattoos would make him look credible to them and the fast car would be able to get him away when he interfered in gang wars.

He was being silly. There is nothing dumber looking than a structured look. I remember guys in the late 60’s who would grow mustaches and sideburns, wear turtlenecks and pendants around their necks so they would be cool. It didn’t take long to know that there was nothing there. The “cool” as fake.

It wouldn’t take long for those around him to know that this young man with the tattoos and Cobra was just posturing. One of the most effective preachers around as David Wilkerson preaching to gangs in the Times Square area in the 1950’s and he looked, talked and dressed like a nerd as far as these people were concerned. But he was authentic. They knew he was real.

In the book Dances with Wolves, one thing that the Indians really liked about John Dunbar, the soldier who came to live with them, was his authenticity. Even though he had become one of them, he still wore his army trousers and his boots, even though he was the only one with trousers and boots on. He had his bone breastplate and long hair and stuff, but he kept those things that he was comfortable with. He was real.

God wants us to be real, but he also wants us to reach out to the culture.

There were missionaries back in the mid part of the last century that I knew who made it clear that, although they were trying to reach a group of people, they remained apart. One missionary in a European country came home every year to buy his clothes so he wouldn’t look European. Even though European fashions are greatly desired by so many, he wanted to be different.

He also didn’t do very well.  After all, what group of people wants to feel like the one reaching out to them thinks they are weird?

That means that if everyone listens to country music, you learn to like it, even if it is not your preference. If they play certain card games, you learn them. If their university has red as its color, get some red stuff. Be like them inasmuch as you can without being foolish or wrong.

Your mission if you choose to accept it: teach them the love of God. It is hard to do that if you don’t show that love in your life. And accepting them is part of that love.