“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous, moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized – whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ – but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t want to just talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!”

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (MSG)

This week I had the opportunity to take a quick retreat at the river. As I sat there reflecting, I looked over to see the spoils of the harvest being shared by Turkey, Deer, and Quail (pictured above). It was a pretty awesome sight just to see, but it also brought me an awareness of the barriers and labels that we as humans have built. Barriers that keep us comfortable, but also isolates us in a multi-cultural world.

Culture influences how people see their own world. It’s a pattern of human behavior which includes beliefs, values, practices, customs, manners of interacting, relationships and expected behaviors. But I think we get so comfortable in the world that we are familiar with, that we fail to even try to experience things from another person’s point of view.

Paul had the right idea! He knew that to be effective in his ministry, he had to move out of his comfort zone to meet people where they were at.

This didn’t mean compromising his own values or beliefs. It meant finding common ground. It meant humbling himself to invest time in people who were not like himself. Listening to them. Observing them. Attempting to understand them and the challenges that were before them. This meant being sensitive to their differences and making them feel accepted and loved. It meant hanging out with the lost. And creating open doors for the Gospel to be heard.

But it also meant that he was imitating Christ. In Matthew 9:10-13, Jesus himself, who came to save and not condemn (John 3:17), sat among sinners because they were the ones who needed Him most.

And I think we could learn a lot from Paul. And from the Turkey, Quail, and Deer.

I personally have found that intentional exposure to other cultures, values, and beliefs helps me search my heart for my own biases and prejudices. It challenges me to love without limitations and moves me into deeper reflection of my own hatred and hardness. It requires me to practice patience, empathy, compassion, and self-control. And it reminds me that it’s not my place to judge others or try to change what they believe, but that it’s my mission to sow a seed that can only be grown by God.

When I move myself out of my bubble and into the bubble of others, it sharpens me and it humbles me. Because it makes me let go of me, if only for a moment, to let someone else be. And it allows me to sweeten the pot with a little bit of Jesus and a whole lot of love in a way that might otherwise not be understood.

When it’s so easy to shun others because of our worldview assumptions, let’s think like Paul and be like the wildlife in the field; sharing our spoils and enjoying together the blessings of the harvest without hesitation, expectation, or resistance. Let’s reap the peace and joy that Jesus has so graciously sown into us by sitting with none other than us alone. We are the sinners He came to save so let’s not just talk the talk, but let’s walk the walk.

Saturday Soul Search