Comfort Zone
Acts
15:1-21
I've provided a link to the reading for today as it is a little longer. Whatever you do, don't skip the Bible reading! It's the most important part.
Matthew 18:20 tells us, “For where two or three come together in my
name, there am I with them.” Jesus joins us when we gather in community.
That’s cool. But I would also suggest that we are also accompanied by our
preconceived notions and desires to have things the way we want them. When two (or
ten or a thousand) people come together there are going to be points of
contention and disagreement about the way things should be. We all want to
dwell within our own comfort zone. As Paul and Barnabas continue to minister to
the people in Antioch they meet up with opposition. Some of those who have come
to Christianity through Judaism are insisting that all must come to Christianity through Judaism. They are known as “Judaizers”
or “The Circumcision Party” and their voice is loud. The book of Galatians
deals specifically with this particular misunderstanding as Paul writes to
the new church in Galatia with words of warning against such ideas.
Several years ago I had the privilege of
spending several months with a couple who had been missionaries to Papua, New
Guinea. One of the comments they made about their time spent in New Guinea
(almost 30 years) was that they had been sent there to bring Christ to the
people, not to bring Western culture and ideas to the people. They were there
to “Christianize not westernize them.” That has always stuck with me. While the
forms and practices of the Christian faith that took shape in Papua didn’t look
like your typical American church they did fit in with what was “normal” for
those particular people and into the structures placed upon us in the
Scriptures. These missionaries watched with joy as the faith spread, the church
grew, and people were saved without an organ, pews, a board of directors, or
hymnals. Today we would call it “an organic experience”. While it was a
challenging time for these missionaries it was filled with joy.
Paul and Barnabas rail against those who
would try and bring not only their faith but also their culture to the new
converts. Our comfort zone is never the consideration. Our personal preferences
are not bad but neither is it appropriate to impose them upon others. As I read
through this passage, one verse in particular stands out.
Acts
15:14
“Simeon
has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for
his name.”
When God started the process of creating
for Himself a group of people from whom He would draw the Messiah He began with
– the Gentiles! Abraham wasn’t “Jewish” when God called him. He was just a guy
who didn’t even live in Israel. God is the One who made him into a nation. God
is the One who promised to send the Messiah through his people. God created the
Jews and now in the New Testament God chooses to include the Gentiles in His
Kingdom as well. Imposing rules that make us feel comfortable is no longer
appropriate for it isn’t of God. I guess it’s time for more personal evaluation
to see where I might be doing that to others in my own life. Doesn’t it always
come down to that?
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