This is about how backward our world has become. How Muslim can the Muslim remain and still be in the Kingdom, and belong to the King? How Hindu can the Hindi be, and yet actually be an inheritor of the Kingdom? As we grapple with missional/contextual issues, these questions are pertinent for those in the West as well.
How rich can a rich person be before they can no longer pass through the eye of a needle? How sensual can a sexy person be and still be a part of the Bride of Christ? How much skin must one cover to be a model of Christ? How much food can a person eat a day and still be Holy as Christ is Holy? How secular can we be and still be in? How much prayer must a holy person offer each day to truly be holy? How much scripture must we read each day to have appropriately have had our quiet time? How much money can I spend on me and still love Jesus? How much time must I devote to evangelism to please Jesus? How much do my small sins (is there such a thing?) hurt me and Jesus, compared to the BIG ones my neighbor is doing? Is how much a person spends on entertainment important to Jesus? Just how much dying is required in this “crucify the flesh“ deal?
Ok ok I have started getting facetious ☺ But I think for the most part these are pretty valid questions (and I have dozens more!) . . . and questions that pertain well to lives that most of us are living. Too often we are hunting for fish in the forest and rabbits in the ocean - Bulgarian Proverb
How rich can a rich person be before they can no longer pass through the eye of a needle? How sensual can a sexy person be and still be a part of the Bride of Christ? How much skin must one cover to be a model of Christ? How much food can a person eat a day and still be Holy as Christ is Holy? How secular can we be and still be in? How much prayer must a holy person offer each day to truly be holy? How much scripture must we read each day to have appropriately have had our quiet time? How much money can I spend on me and still love Jesus? How much time must I devote to evangelism to please Jesus? How much do my small sins (is there such a thing?) hurt me and Jesus, compared to the BIG ones my neighbor is doing? Is how much a person spends on entertainment important to Jesus? Just how much dying is required in this “crucify the flesh“ deal?
Ok ok I have started getting facetious ☺ But I think for the most part these are pretty valid questions (and I have dozens more!) . . . and questions that pertain well to lives that most of us are living. Too often we are hunting for fish in the forest and rabbits in the ocean - Bulgarian Proverb
3 comments:
I think that you are right to a point Heidi. It is that "term life" insurance mentality -- how much return can I get for the lowest investment.
On the other hand . . . these questions have come to my mind as I am writing this Missions course for the seminary, and these are really cultural questions and the answer you arrive at depends on a large number of factors such as your hermeneutics, home culture, POV from a Biblical spectrum, gender, salvation status, etc, etc. Thus I tried to apply (in a less serious manner) these missional questions about how culturally muslim a person may remain, and yet be "in" the Kingdom of God, to the larger cultural questions that may plague Christians in a North American setting.
Kudos to you for your sharp analysis and for not letting me get away with anything :-) You still are my FOD, Dad
David, I won't say anything about apples or trees... Well said, Heidi. Way to nail the point. Miss you here, but pray you're doing well there. C.
Not sure where Carolyn was going, but how many apples does a tree need to produce to be considered an apple tree? Or is that just asking the same question from a different angle?
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