Seeking Out Those Seeking God
“It is not those who
are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to
call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17 NASB
John Wright wrote a great piece for the blog last week about
how Jesus broke down barriers to reach out to those that his “people” would
never have considered reaching out to. I
had no idea what John was preparing, and the Lord put these thoughts on my heart
weeks ago. This blog was pretty much
written before his was posted last week. Maybe there’s a message God really
wants Southeastern to hear.
How do we reach out to those seeking God? What does it mean
to be seeking God? Does seeking God mean visitors to worship on Sunday,
visitors to our pantry, parents of our preschoolers, neighbors, anyone that
touches Southeastern in some way? What is our responsibility to take Christ to
those seeking God? How do we do that? Are we afraid? What if they don't look like us?...talk like
us?...dress like us? What if they are sinners? Do you have to compromise?
This is not a new topic. We've all been in these discussions
before. Greg has talked to us so much about what it means to be the aroma of
Christ. How are you doing with that? How
am I doing with that? What are we willing to do to be Christ to those we come
in contact with? Was Paul afraid to speak out at the Areopagus in Acts 17? Was
Peter afraid to speak to Cornelius the centurion in Acts chapter 10? Did Paul know
in Acts 14 when he spoke at Iconium that his own people, the Jews, would be so
angry that they would be willing to stone him? Was he afraid? What do we
fear? Impact on our jobs? People laughing at us at work or in our social
circles? Is there so much confusion in the greater church today about what God
condones and accepts because we are afraid to engage those people when they
start to search for God? How much opportunity have we missed? Were
opportunities missed to teach our children to love first so they could
establish relationships and bring people to Christ? Is that why so many of our
children choose to not walk in our shoes? Do you love people? I mean, do you
really…love…people? Remember the video
that Greg showed us a few years ago of Penn Jillette, the comic illusionist,
speaking about the willingness of Christians to speak to others about Christ?
Do you remember the question he asked? I’ll paraphrase, “If you know that
someone's path could lead them to eternal loss why would you not want to share
that with them to help him avoid such a tragic end?” Here’s an avowed atheist who recognizes the
profoundness of what we believe - if what we believe is actually true!
I've spent far too many years willing to
condemn and complain and criticize and far too many years unwilling to
recognize that I have to love first. I have to care about the souls of those I
know and those I don't know if I’m going to seek out those seeking God. I have to love everyone because I believe
we’re ALL God’s children if I’m going to be brave enough to talk to them about
coming home. I'm not just talking about Southeastern. I'm talking about the
greater church. I'm not just talking about the churches of Christ. I'm talking
about me, as a Christ-follower, being so concerned about getting my hands dirty
or being affected by the words, lifestyles, attitudes, and beliefs of those who
don't
know Christ that I have too often been unwilling to sit with them, to
walk with them, to eat with them, to be Christ with them. What’s the answer? Is it really so simple? “Strive to be more like Jesus…every
day.” I need to be willing to sit with
them, walk with them, eat with them, and be Christ with those that are seeking
God. Some of you already do this, do it
well, and do it daily. Thank you! So help us who need to get better at it.
As we start a new year, let's all commit to a
journey to take Southeastern to a place that many of us don't recognize, that
some have been looking for, and that some will be uncomfortable with. Jesus
gave us examples of reaching out to the lost. He did not give us guidelines or
preconditions for doing that. In John 4,
he did it when he spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. He went against the
customs and appropriateness of the day and interacted with her. The text
doesn't tell us he set out a precondition that she must be willing to accept
what he was about to tell her. He just offered her living water. Again, in John 8, Jesus stepped outside of our
comfort zone. He defended the woman
caught in adultery without preconditions. The text doesn't tell us that he knew
that she would follow him or change her ways, he just broke with the social
norms, refused to condemn her and pointed her in the direction of truth. In Mark 2, Jesus dined with sinners despite
the scorn it raised with the religious leaders and likely the average person.
Jesus was about saving souls, reaching out to the lost, about doing his Father’s
work. Jesus was about building
relationships so that he could build bridges between the lost and his
Father. Building relationships is risky
business. Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes
it’s messy, sometimes it’s painful, and sometimes it’s disappointing. Jesus experienced those things right up to
the cross and he still experiences them today.
But seeking out those that are seeking God holds a reward worth the
risk. If we love people then we want
them to experience what we have. So join
me in seeking out those who are not yet part of Christ’s body. Take a chance and start developing a relationship
with a stranger.
As a new shepherd for what Greg calls “this kingdom outpost
at Southeastern,” I ask that you pray for me and for all of the elders that we
pray fervently for and listen to God's direction and that we come alongside
everyone that considers this place home to grow not into what I want us to be
or what you want us to be, but into what God wants us to be.
May His will be what guides our every step.
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