A thought from the tub

I had a insight while I was sitting in the tub this morning (I know I am a bit of a loser, I would rather have a bath then a shower, what can you do).

If I truly want to reach out to a group of people, if I want to witness to them, in some sense I need become them.

Follow me for a second, when God wanted to reach out and save a group of people, he became human. Fully man and fully God. He ate with those he witnessed to, he partied with them, he even slept in their homes. God for all intense in purposes became what he came to save. But while doing so he managed to stay in tune with his vision and his purpose, being tempted in those situations but not breaking.

For me I am called to the fringes of society, if I am going to be able to relate to them, to build relationships with them, to help them and hopefully lead them to Jesus. I have to experience what they experience, I need live where they live, sacrifice like they sacrifice, eat what and where they eat. I need to get passed the fact that I was blessed to be raised in a middle class home, blessed to be educated, blessed with a good job, and realize that I am not better then others because I have been blessed with the capacity to acquire more material goods.

Someone once told me that rich people don't really want to worship with poor people and poor people really don't want to worship with rich people. At first I was taken back and I thought thats ridiculous we should all be able to worship together. And may be we should.

But the story of the Salvation Army tells us that that person was right. William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) stirred things up by reaching out to the marginalized, the poor the drunk, he went into dirty nasty bars looking to share Jesus by helping those in need. The people he attracted were not welcome in the traditional Church culture of the time, so a new Church was created a poor mans church, the Salvation Army. This Church was created not to exclude the rich but rather embrace the poor. People who joined were asked to live a life of sacrifice. (very broad overview of the beginnings of the army) Over the years I have talked to many old officers (Sally Ann Ministers) about the early days, and they talk of going with out food, of sickness, of giving of themselves fully to serve the lost. Of living a truly sacrificial life.Arguably much of the Army has moved away from this early vision, I believe strongly that I am called back to it, I wonder how many others who are reading this right now are called as well?

Interesting to note those officers I talked to, talked about those days with a huge smile on their faces, with sincere conviction that they wouldn't have changed the experience for anything. They were living the Full LIFE!!!