As Jesus was being asked questions by some of the scribes, one of them asked him, "What is the greatest commandment?" To which Jesus replied, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.". He then goes on to tell them what the second greatest is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Now isn't that one of the sweetest rules in all the Bible, love others like we love ourselves?
It sounds really easy to love our neighbor when we're at church or with our family and friends. But what about when "your neighbor" is different? What about when it's someone you don't talk like, look like, or even agree with over certain topics? Do we have to love those neighbors too? Absolutely! This verse doesn't say that people who are different aren't our neighbors, deserving of love too. We are to follow the Lord's teaching and love ALL of our neighbors as we do ourselves. Are we caring for our neighbor when he's sick like we would want to be cared for, are we praying for them when they need more than we are able to give? Who reading this has ever made a mistake, only to be chewed out too harshly for it? Good many hands up I imagine. Are we showing our neighbors the grace and kindness that we want to receive when we screw up?
Sometimes for us to be able to really reach people and understand what they're going through or where they're coming from, we have to do like Paul did in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22; "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews, I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some."
In doing this lesson with the TBC children, we then proceeded to have a few of them walk in their neighbor's shoes. As you can imagine, this was rather entertaining watching a young boy stroll around in small girl flip flops, and watching a small girl try walking in a pair of adult crocs. Just try it out, even for a few steps so you can get the object of what we're looking at here.
How did it feel to walk around in someone else's shoes? It have been a little strange or weird, definitely something different that we aren't used to. Did it feel a little bit uncomfortable? Most likely so, but that's what Paul did in order to reach others for Christ.
Paul chose to be a servant, to put his wishes and desires on the backburner so he could serve others. When he "became as a Jew," Paul did all the he could (under God's law still) to become culturally and socially similar to the Jews. Basically meaning that he acted like them, talked like them, celebrated like them, to them, he was a Jew. For us to reach people, we have to show an interest in them and in their interests. If you want to reach a group of baseball players, start talking about baseball; if you want to reach a group of soccer players, start talking about soccer and so on.
We also have to learn to talk to people on their level. Paul became weak so that he could win others who were weak. He did not water down the message of the gospel, he just explained it in simpler terms. My wife and sister work in the medical field so they like using what I consider code words for medicines sometimes. I'll be saying that I have a headache or stomachache or whatever it is and then I hear that I need to take a dose of loratadineantihistamineacetaminophen or something. I'm left with a confused look on my face then just wondering, do we have some Tylenol?
Paul became "all things...by all means" so that he could save people. Are we willing to submit ourselves to the service of others? To learn to see things from other's perspectives? To fully understand where someone is coming from or why they feel the way they feel, the only way to do so may be walk in their shoes. And that may be uncomfortable at times. But as Christians, it's important for us to put ourselves in others' shoes in order to reach them. Whose shoes do you need to walk in today? What would people see if they walked in yours?
It sounds really easy to love our neighbor when we're at church or with our family and friends. But what about when "your neighbor" is different? What about when it's someone you don't talk like, look like, or even agree with over certain topics? Do we have to love those neighbors too? Absolutely! This verse doesn't say that people who are different aren't our neighbors, deserving of love too. We are to follow the Lord's teaching and love ALL of our neighbors as we do ourselves. Are we caring for our neighbor when he's sick like we would want to be cared for, are we praying for them when they need more than we are able to give? Who reading this has ever made a mistake, only to be chewed out too harshly for it? Good many hands up I imagine. Are we showing our neighbors the grace and kindness that we want to receive when we screw up?
Sometimes for us to be able to really reach people and understand what they're going through or where they're coming from, we have to do like Paul did in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22; "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews, I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some."
In doing this lesson with the TBC children, we then proceeded to have a few of them walk in their neighbor's shoes. As you can imagine, this was rather entertaining watching a young boy stroll around in small girl flip flops, and watching a small girl try walking in a pair of adult crocs. Just try it out, even for a few steps so you can get the object of what we're looking at here.
How did it feel to walk around in someone else's shoes? It have been a little strange or weird, definitely something different that we aren't used to. Did it feel a little bit uncomfortable? Most likely so, but that's what Paul did in order to reach others for Christ.
Paul chose to be a servant, to put his wishes and desires on the backburner so he could serve others. When he "became as a Jew," Paul did all the he could (under God's law still) to become culturally and socially similar to the Jews. Basically meaning that he acted like them, talked like them, celebrated like them, to them, he was a Jew. For us to reach people, we have to show an interest in them and in their interests. If you want to reach a group of baseball players, start talking about baseball; if you want to reach a group of soccer players, start talking about soccer and so on.
We also have to learn to talk to people on their level. Paul became weak so that he could win others who were weak. He did not water down the message of the gospel, he just explained it in simpler terms. My wife and sister work in the medical field so they like using what I consider code words for medicines sometimes. I'll be saying that I have a headache or stomachache or whatever it is and then I hear that I need to take a dose of loratadineantihistamineacetaminophen or something. I'm left with a confused look on my face then just wondering, do we have some Tylenol?
Paul became "all things...by all means" so that he could save people. Are we willing to submit ourselves to the service of others? To learn to see things from other's perspectives? To fully understand where someone is coming from or why they feel the way they feel, the only way to do so may be walk in their shoes. And that may be uncomfortable at times. But as Christians, it's important for us to put ourselves in others' shoes in order to reach them. Whose shoes do you need to walk in today? What would people see if they walked in yours?
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