This week’s message was a tough one. Not from a theological or biblical studies stand point. Some times the text is difficult to translate, has meanings that are hard to interpret. Maybe there are even cultural disconnects that we have to learn in order to apply the text.
Those messages are difficult because they require a lot of study.
This message was difficult because of how it stared us in the face. The text was plain. The meaning was obvious. The application was hard.
It was also a difficult message because of how many of us could disagree with it, have difficulties with the other side’s opinion, or because it touched a nerve within us of injustice.
We come from different backgrounds, perspectives, and political persuasions. But we come together. That’s what family does. We have a rule in our house that no matter what is said, you don’t leave the table. You’ll always be part of the family. I hope that rule applies at Northbrook.
On the topic of immigration and loving the stranger, I shared with you a lot on the idea but left a lot on the table for you. If you want something more, I would recommend Welcoming the Stranger, a book you can find here: [Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Welcoming-Stranger-Justice-Compassion-Immigration/dp/0830845399/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=welcoming+the+stranger&qid=1557240324&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1 – Mike, is this the book? It’s by Matthew Soerens, et al]
I don’t want to reopen the debate or rehash the ideas. You can go back and listen to my message again, or for the first time if you missed it. No, I want to talk about something else. Something in the vein of our idea of “Welcome.”
Do you welcome the opinions of others? Do you welcome debate and discussion? Do you welcome ideas that you may disagree with? If not, why not?
In this media-centric culture, it’s so easy to find a corner where everyone agrees with you and you agree with everyone else. And in that corner, your words bounce off the walls and come right back to you. We call it an echo chamber. It only works to reinforce whatever ideas you have.
But when we lock ourselves in an echo chamber, it can become increasingly difficult to hear God’s voice. You probably know you’re hearing God when what he says makes you feel uncomfortable, it uncovers that last 10% of truth, or it doesn’t lineup exactly with all of your preconceived ideas.
Instead, it pushes you to love more, to care more, to see more. It pushes you out of your comfort zone. It pushes you to lay your own life down – including your opinions – and see how you can serve others.
Living in the echo chamber is living for Jesus “on my terms.” Instead of listening and obeying, we tell Jesus “Shhh…I’ve got this.” And we live however we want. Echo chamber living can be dangerous!
But living for Jesus means we see culture around us differently. Not through the lens of CNN or Fox News, through right/left or Republican/Democrat lenses. But through the lens of scripture.
What does the Bible say? How does it want us to live?
The best way to encounter that better way is through community. And any community will involve a difference – a different set of backgrounds, viewpoints, and opinions.
Do we welcome those differences?
We need a more thoughtful informed understanding that is better than a screaming match by advocates of either side of the debate. We need a better conversation than the small percentage of loud voices on either side of the extremes. We need to welcome the discussion, not the destructive rhetoric.
What happens when we welcome the differences? Life and peace.
We are better for our differences. We are better when we work together. We are better when we can see things through other people’s point of view. We are better when we get in their shoes and walk around for a while.
Notice I didn’t way we are better when we agree? Sure, there are some things we should agree on – like Jesus’ death and resurrection, the supremacy of the scriptures, or the importance of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. But when it comes to almost everything else, we are better when we disagree.
Because it pushes us.
Because it shapes us.
Because it sharpens us.
Because it allows us to love what is not automatically loveable for us. You know, we weren’t always loveable to God. But he loved us anyway. And he put us in his family. So let’s start acting – and reacting – like family. Let’s love each other and honor the disagreement at the table. Then let’s get up together and go love a world who needs it more than ever.
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