I was really looking forward to my new schedule on Wednesdays this semester. I have worked really hard to keep them open so that I could have the truck and get my errands done during the week. There are just some errands that need to be done on a weekday, and I really hated to have to use our Saturdays to get shopping done. Plus, I never know if Saturdays will remain open.
This past Wednesday didn't go like I had planned at all, but that was ok. I was able to adjust and pay attention to lessons that God had prepared for me along the way.
Lesson #1--We don't always know the full story so we need to be careful about what judgments we make about a person and a situation.
I'm a bit of a political junkie, and I enjoy the quirky humor and insight of Eric Metaxas. I've been enjoying his podcast since recently finding it even though I don't listen to every episode. I saw an episode with Bob Beckel and decided to give it a listen. I really didn't know much about him except that he used to be on Fox as a liberal voice and had a good friendship with conservative Cal Thomas.
To make a long story short, Bob was in the process of getting a divorce when a prostitution ring sent him an extortion letter demanding $50,000 or they would go to his wife. He hadn't done anything wrong so he took it to the police and ended up being part of a sting operation The sting operation took down a prostitution ring that involved seven states making it a federal matter.
Bob thought he was finished until two months later when reporters started calling asking him about being with a prostitute. The judge said that there was a gag order for six months, and nothing could be done to correct the stories that were being told about Bob.
Due to the outcry (by the right-wing) he lost his job on CNN and his speaking engagements. He even lost his position coaching his kid's little league team and went from making $800,000 to $7,000 for two years in a row. When you lose your reputation, where do you go to get it back? I'm sure those making the outcry felt justified in doing so, but they didn't know the whole story. Even when we know the story we need to remember the thoughts of mercy, grace, redemption, and reconciliation.
In the aftermath he was getting calls from reporters to come back and do specials, but he kept turning them down until he got a call from Fox. He pretty much went because he knew his friend Cal Thomas was going to be there. Cal Thomas ended up witnessing to him and giving him a book by Josh McDowell. This started Bob's path to seeing God's grace in his life.
Unfortunately we're not always interested in the truth. We think we know what's going on, but we usually get our info from misleading headlines on Facebook. If we saw it on Facebook, it must be true! But we need to remember that our activism has consequences. What can seem so clear to us may not really be what's going on. We're dealing with real people, and this affects them and their families.
Lesson #2--Life is short, and we don't know when ours may end.
I saw the results of a motorcycle accident. It was probably the worst I have personally seen even though there was no blood at the scene. There was just a motionless young woman, and I was reminded once again about the brevity of life. And I was reminded that in a land where 0.7% are not Christian, she was probably not a believer.
God has called us to pursue strangers not to stay in our comfort zones with people who think and act like we do. Hospitality is not inviting your small group over for supper; it's inviting in the stranger. It's easier to feel at home with believers than it is to try to find common ground with people who don't share the same values, speak the same language, or have a shared history with you. It's uncomfortable to pursue the stranger who doesn't know the first thing about the God you serve and you have the responsibility for preparing the soil for the seed. It's uncomfortable knowing that when you step out and begin pursuing strangers that the Christian community will find fault in you or just refuse to understand, but we're in pretty good company. I remember the religious community of Jesus' day being offended that He would eat with sinners--the scum. He came to call sinners to repentance. If we're never with them how will we be able to do the same? We have to learn to interact with those who do not live and hold to the same values that we do.
Choose today to pursue the stranger--it might be your last opportunity. If not you, then who?
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