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.

http://www.esvbible.org/Acts 15:1-21

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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