I went to the predawn Bible study again today, and despite the hour, it’s such a blessing when I actually roll out of bed to get there. I do kind of feel out of place at times when all these men show up in their suits and work clothes and I’m wearing my one pair of nice pants (jeans) and whatever t-shirt happened to be on top of my suitcase. Again, physically I don’t really fit, but it has been so cool to build connections each time I walk through the door. I told my buddy this morning that I would’ve never come to this church without him, but it’s been surprising.
We met as men in the big meeting hall for about 30 minutes and then all the countless small groups split off to their rooms for a more intimate discussion of the scriptures. The entire year of this study has been devoted to the Gospels, so today we started the book of John. This is right in line with where I am because all the other “Biblical teachings” just pale in comparison when I hold them up against the Gospel. Within Christianity, it seems to be the one thing we can all agree on, so instead of blowing hot air in the shape of our opinions, why don’t we just unite under that and go change the world?
Anyway, Ben was new to our group this week (at least for me, he’s actually been there for years, but it makes me feel better to say that since I’m still the new guy…) and like the other men, is into his marriage and life plan. Yet again, I missed that demographic, but I’m in no hurry for now. We had a passage to talk about, but it ended up just encompassing the entire Gospel and how we can share our faith and this truth we believe in. For me, the biggest struggle is how do you balance the urgency of this message we’re supposed to share with the sanctity of family and a long term relationship? This is one area we all really connected on.
Ben has someone in his family that he loves and cares for deeply that aside from denying the Gospel, is just making poor choices. I know there are two camps here. One group says, “Well, you shouldn’t care what others think, that’s not your responsibility. Just preach the Gospel.” I understand that, but that’s one big reason so many people see the church as cocky, arrogant, closed minded idiots that “think” they know it all. The other camp says, “Preach the Gospel with your life and you shouldn’t have to use words. Just be the example.” Well the one problem with that is Jesus and his disciples. Jesus very adamantly, yet humbly, claimed who he was and his disciples didn’t shut up about. They even went as far as to say, they physically couldn’t contain the message because it burned that badly.
So where’s the balance?
How do you love someone in your family (or close friend) enough to not shy away or back down from the message you believe, but also leave open arms whether they listen or not? When it gets down to it, I have no say whether or not someone receives Jesus, but does that mean I stay silent? That sounds a lot more like Hell coming to earth than Heaven. The real truth is, I know my words are powerful because I’m speaking a message that isn’t mine with an authority that doesn’t come from me to a person that I genuinely love. I guess that kind of removes me altogether.
It’s one thing to go all over the world to share the message, but as I heard Ben’s story, it became something totally different when the sharing is in your own living room. There’s a tension in the Gospel that we need to balance, especially when it comes to family, and it all starts with removing us and making God more (John 3:30…).
