The Christian Behind Closed Doors - Excerpt (156-158)
Jesus said that he came into this world for those who are
sick, not for the people who are well (Matt. 9:12). We expect
people to get rid of their sickness on their own, and only then
are we willing to jump to help them get better. That does not
make sense. Once the person is better, he no longer needs the doctor.
Individuals must come into our churches as they are. It is
within the church that we need to offer a helping hand. It is
in the church that we explain to the unmarried couple, living
together, that God wants them to get married before they live
together.
It is in the church that we help the addict get rid of
his addiction; it is within the church that we address the needs
of the single mother. And yes, we may get some cigarette smoke
on us in the process; we may end up smelling of liquor. That
is a small price for helping the sick get better so let’s cast out
the fear!
Spend some time in the presence of questionable individuals.
Jesus spent much of his time in the presence of people
whom religious leaders saw as questionable. He was not afraid
or embarrassed to be in their company.
He was not afraid of interacting with them for fear that they would infect Him. In
fact, it seems that He enjoyed their company more than that
of the religious people of his day. He seemed to get along so
well with the sinners and seemed to quarrel so often with the
religious leaders. He affected those that were considered the
garbage of society.
I heard of a single mother who was supposed to have a baby
shower for her second baby at a church. Her family was excited
to be able to use the church facilities for the event.
Invitations were sent, and the family was ready to buy the refreshments
and other supplies necessary to decorate the room where
the baby shower would be held. A few days before the baby
shower, word got out that the party was for a mother who was
not married to the father of the child. The church quickly
revoked its offer to host the baby shower.
If an individual has something questionable about them,
many churches are afraid to offer themselves or their services
to such individuals. Jesus was not afraid of the rejected. He
was always willing to spend time with the people that the rest
of society pointed a critical finger toward.
If Jesus had been living today, He surely would be in the company of single
mothers who had children with multiple fathers; He would lift
the drug addicts and prostitutes. Jesus would not be afraid of
being infected. He would affect people with His love.
In order to cure this fear of infection, make it a point to spend
time with people that fellow Christians label as questionable.
I recently spoke to a man that started doing door to door
Evangelism. He testifi ed that sharing the gospel outside of church
was an intimidating idea for him. Only a few months after starting
this work he shared how his fear had disappeared. Stepping out
to spend time with the unsaved eliminated his fear.
Choose one evening a week to spend with people that are
not involved in one of your church ministries. Go to the local
athletic center and work out or play ball with people that quote
something other than scripture after losing a game. Make
some acquaintances that have the potential of infecting you
and see if God won’t open a door for you to have an infl uence
in their life.
I am not saying that you need to isolate yourself from your
church or that all the friends you make from now on need to
be outside the faith. You obviously need to be discerning as you
wade into unchartered waters. But don’t let the unknown outside
the church walls scare you away from affecting the unsaved.