Different Means
While at UM ARMY this past week my assistance noticed that he had forgotten his cell phone charger. I suggested that he could use my cell phone charger but it did not work with his phone. (I kind of knew it would not work) Then we discussed how it seems that every phone has a different charger, and that it would be convenient if they all used the same charger. But alas, they don’t. So the solution was to purchase a new charger if we wanted his phone to work. It was a place where reality meets expectations. We could have spent more time complaining, or just purchase a new charger.
Often in trying to reach people with the gospel, we forget the principal that we are not all the same. Paul makes that point in Romans 12 and in several other places. That people are not all the same. I reflect on that idea as I thing that some people are reached by God through sermons, some though music, some through acts of kindness. Those differences are also reflected in the way we worship God.
We could spend a lot of time complaining about how everyone should be like us. And as the church we often we do. But does it make sense? That is does it make sense to spend time complaining? We need to realize that we are different and if we are serious about reaching people we need to understand how to reach people, not just expect them to be reached the way we are. The greatest evangelist ever Paul realized this principal. He spent time studying people so that he knew how to reach them. Paul did not expect people to only be reached by one method. He employed all means at his disposal.
What is the point of this whole article? We could spend time complaining about people who are not reached by God in the same way we are, or we could realize that it is just a reality, and be about the business of reaching people for God. One is a lot more fun!
