A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
Proverbs 17:22 NLT
Over the past several months I have increasingly noticed the importance of carrying a positive or cheerful heart as Proverbs 17 shares with those I interact with. Whether that be in person meetings, those I pass in stores, the cashier at the register, the lady bicycling by with a small dog in a basket, the family sitting across from Mikaela and I on the bus talking in Arabic, engaging others on social media, and even chatting with my new friends and strangers while playing an online game. I think many of us do not fully realize what kind of influence and impact we can have on others around us whether it is family, friends, or complete strangers. I know for myself this is something I have come to realize more and more the older I get as for myself I tend to be observant and reflect on experiences and interactions that I myself have with others or watching others interact with one another.
I have a point in mind regarding the following so bear with me. During my time in college I always looked for the opportunity to take sociology classes when it would fulfill my degree requirements. In refreshing my memory of the definition of sociology it is defined as, “the study of society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture that surrounds everyday life.” I am not sure why sociology fascinated me so much and still does to this day as I would say that it gave me a new perspective in understanding people and culture as a whole. This interest was evident so much so that while taking an upper level sociology class at Ball State University that my professor who is a nationally recognized teacher of sociology tried to get me to change my major to sociology.
My reflection on this now to sum it up simply, I took those sociology classes because I sought to understand people around me, those outside of my patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and the cultural things that surround and effect everyday life. To me when you understand society, patterns of social relationships, social interactions, and culture that surrounds everyday life, then one is able to better relate and speak into the lives and cultures of others. How would this impact the church, the body of Christ if we sought to understand other people and other cultures before we judged them and voice our discontentment against those outside the body of Christ? If we as missionaries (all Christians) sought to understand people and the culture we live in no matter what city or country this takes place, perhaps we would see them differently? Perhaps we would begin to see them as God sees them in that they are loved.
Why else would John 3:16 start off as, “For this is how God LOVED the world:…” and why else would Jesus respond to an expert in religious law seeking to trap him ask which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses to which Jesus’ answers is LOVE.
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40 NLT
Now back on the topic of sociology. One of the many reasons I like to study the apostle Paul is his keen eye for observation, reflection, and how he sought to understand the culture he was in. Each of these things (along with many others) impacted how he shared and presented the Gospel. One of my favorite examples of this was when Paul is in Athens and he is deeply troubled by the many idols he saw. He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles and he spoke daily in the public square. He even also debated with the Epicurean (followers of the teachings of the Greek philosopher Epicurus whose teachings focused on materialism and being against superstition and divine intervention) and Stoic philosophers (a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its view on the natural world). To put it lightly, Paul had his hands full and eventually they took him to the high council of the city to explain these “strange ideas” as the Athenians themselves wanted to know what this Gospel message was all about.
So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.”
Acts 17:22-23 NLT
Paul then presented them the Gospel message and after they heard about the resurrection of the dead some laughed, while others wanted to hear more about this. Following this, some actually joined Paul and became believers. There are two specific things I like about Paul’s interaction with the high council. First he did not judge them and actually complimented them on their devoted religious practices. Second he saw an opportunity to tell them about God, the Lord Almighty because he was observant and noticed an altar with an inscription on it, “To an Unknown God.”
Paul was a bridge builder, not a bridge destroyer. He was a bridge builder in the sense that he showed understanding of their religious culture by his compliment and sought to connect with his listeners via the altar “To an Unknown God” in presenting the Gospel message to those who did not know of the Good News. He was not a bridge destroyer in the sense that he judged the council over their many religious idols and criticized them of not knowing who God was. He was simply a messenger of God’s redeeming work in seeking to be a bridge builder in being an ambassador of Christ.
Ministry in Everything to me means that as a Christian believer living my life here on earth, everything I do no matter how small or insignificant or where it takes place, I am an ambassador of Christ. And as an ambassador of Christ I do not get to simply decide whether consciously or subconsciously when to clock in and clock out. Being an ambassador of Christ is to encompass all areas of my life on a day to day basis. Whether that consist of teaching international students at IMI Church’s ACTA Bibelskole from time to time, sharing funny memes on Facebook, chatting with my friends or strangers while playing an online game, sharing an encouraging word to fellow Americans here in Norway in Facebook groups who are struggling to understand what all is happening in the U.S., or simply greeting a stranger with a warm smile as we pass each other.
Ministry in Everything to me means that as a Christian believer living my life here on earth, I am called to love all those around me just as God loves them being made evident in sending his one and only son. When Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves that means something significant. This also means as a Christian believer I am called to serve and not judge those around me. Something I have learned in this journey of faith is that it is much harder for me to judge people when I understand them. How often do you try to understand those who are different than you? Because when you understand that God loves that person just as much as he loves you, it changes you. It changes how you look at others and suddenly the old life is gone and a new life begins.
When we as Christians grow in our love for Christ, we also grow in our love for those around us. At least we should, if that is not happening in a believers life then they do not truly know God’s redemptive work made evident in Jesus. The love of Christ cannot be contained as it shines forth and touches everyone around us. As Christians, we carry Jesus’ peace with us wherever we go and oh how many are needing such a rich peace in their lives during these troubling times.
So when I say Ministry in Everything what I am wanting to convey to you is that God uses every single opportunity in our lives so that he may be known to those around us. That is what it means to be an ambassador of Christ as like Paul we carry God’s love and redemptive message found in Christ Jesus the Prince of Peace. So when you are sitting in the waiting area while your car is being worked on, perhaps God is wanting you to put your phone down and chat with the elderly man sitting across from you who is lonely and just wants someone to talk with. This was an experience I had and for half an hour I got to hear this man’s life story. The question we have to ask ourselves are the following… Are you observant of those around you? Do you know others exist? Do you know that Jesus died for all and not just you? Do you know as a Christian you are expected to share the love of Christ with others?
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NLT
Ministry in Everything means to be aware that God is making his appeal through us no matter what we are doing. It is such a wonderful gift from God that he has brought us back to himself through Christ to which I think we will never fully understand how precious this gift is until Christ returns. God has given us this task of reconciling people to him and the majority of this task takes place outside the walls of the church the other six days of the week. It happens when we see others as God sees them, with compassion and love. I have heard it said that when we look at others we should see them through the eyes of Jesus which is compassion.
After you read the passage below, I have a request I would like for you to do. I would love for you to watch and listen to a song called “Thank You Jesus” by Hillsong Worship. Specifically as you listen to this song/lyric video, I want you to pay attention to what is happening in the background. What do you see? Blessings
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How different we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:-16-17 NLT