how we relate.
23 10 2007We talked a bit last night about how we relate to and interact with those around us, especially those who might not be Christians. I want to delve into that a bit more for next Monday Night.
Now, if we’re a group of people who are following God to help bring blessing to all other peoples and partnering with Him to help restore and redeem the world around us (including the people in it), then we’re always going to go about doing that in a certain way, and that way is extremely important.
In AD 432, Saint Patrick led a small band of Christians into Ireland. At the time, this island was a land of barbarians (imagine the army of naked guys at the beginning of Gladiator, only hundreds of years earlier). Patrick was one of the first of a movement that became known as Celtic Christianity. While the rest of the Church in the known world (under the influence of Rome) were ‘converting’ people in a certain way, the Christians in the British Isles were isolated from the influence of Rome. They interacted with the native culture and the people in a different way, and as a result, entire clans and tribes decided to follow the way of Christ. Here are a few of the things that Patrick and the Celtic Christians did that some historians and scholars say was so unique:
1. They treated outsiders like insiders.
2. They talked about everyday issues.
3. They looked for the good.
What are your thoughts on this? Is it different from what you’ve seen or experienced? What do you think is the importance of each of these things? Why do you think they would be important or meaningful to the person you’re interacting with?
Well, from what I’ve expierienced in others and my own spiritual life, the three things you listed above are all things that sound really good and really cool, but people often sit back and let others do that sort of thing. Wrong choice.
What I’ve recently decided is that I’m going to start living the life that I’ve always thought would be a cool way to live. Like, talking with people that I might have avoided during the summer. Why? Because it’s 1) Something that new and 2) It’s what Jesus did and is telling us to do.
See, I know that when you can connect with people, you have a better chance of them listening to what you have to say. There have been Christians in my life that probably had some really amazing things to say about God and Jesus, but I wasn’t listening. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to know about all that or that I was trying to be rude to them, but they just didn’t connect with me. What they were saying didn’t seem like it was relevant to my life. ANd you know what? I missed out on some really cool stuff! I geuss Jesus is pretty smart when it comes to getting a point accross.