Misfits and Misunderstandings
I'm a pastor's wife. I bet some of you who read this blog already knew that. People assume a lot about pastors' wives. One assumption is that we know as much about the Bible as our husbands. I grew up in church and have spent a lot of time in Bible studies and classes over the years. I know a lot, but I don't have a degree in religious studies or a seminary degree. I'm just like most anyone else who sits in the crowd on a Sunday morning. When I read the Bible I don't always understand what it's saying. Sometimes the language confounds me or the context confuses me. I don't always see how stuff written to ancient Israelites applies to my own life in modern day America.
One thing I have learned over the years is that God's word often clearly depicts good guys and bad guys. We all read the story of David and Goliath and we know exactly who is the bad guy. Goliath was literally a giant going up against a young kid whose only weapon was a slingshot. Pretty easy to spot the bad guy in that story. Or with the story of Cain killing Abel in Genesis. I think we can all agree that what Cain did cast him in the role of bad guy.
In the New Testament writings of the history of Jesus' ministry, I think the good guy vs. bad guy argument gets a little more muddy. There you read about people who did bad stuff and were prominently featured as good guys -- think about the prostitutes, tax collectors and other not-so-great people Jesus regularly chose to spend time with. Opposed to them were the guys who seemed to do good stuff but were usually painted as the bad guys in the story -- like the Pharisees or teachers of the law who Jesus often argued with over their judgemental nature and harsh treatment of others. The Pharisees were the church-goers who knew God's word inside and outside. They sat around at the temple (or church) daily, debating what different passages meant. They believed that their knowledge of God's word made them special and more holy than anyone else. More importantly, they knew exactly what the Scriptures said regarding the Messiah or Savior who God promised to send. When they saw that Jesus spent time with....gasp....SINNERS, they were very outspoken in their condemnation of his choice of company. They believed that they, the ones who knew God's word so intimately, should be the ones graced with the presence of the true Messiah when he came. They misunderstood what Jesus was doing with all these misfits. They didn't understand Jesus was hanging out with people who actually needed saving.
Isn't this sometimes true of our own experience? For those of you who grew up spending most every Sunday at church, isn't it easy to expect everyone to think and act like you do? I grew up in church and so I understand who Jesus was, why he came to earth like he did, what he accomplished in my life through his death, burial and resurrection. Because God has transformed my life, I know why it's bad to lie or drink excessively or have sex outside of marriage. Those behaviors hurt me, hurt others and hurt my relationship with God. It all seems so simple to me...because I've known about it my whole life. But it would be a grievous mistake to assume that everyone else knows the same things I know or have had the same life transformation that I had....or make all the same life choices I make. And, it's easy for me to think that my judgement of them is justified. But, I'd be wrong. I'm not the Holy Spirit. I'm not responsible for other people's choices. I'm responsible only for my own life and living in such a way that others want to know about the transforming love of Jesus that they see so clearly in me. I want the misfits of the world to feel as comfortable with me as they felt with Jesus.
One thing I have learned over the years is that God's word often clearly depicts good guys and bad guys. We all read the story of David and Goliath and we know exactly who is the bad guy. Goliath was literally a giant going up against a young kid whose only weapon was a slingshot. Pretty easy to spot the bad guy in that story. Or with the story of Cain killing Abel in Genesis. I think we can all agree that what Cain did cast him in the role of bad guy.
In the New Testament writings of the history of Jesus' ministry, I think the good guy vs. bad guy argument gets a little more muddy. There you read about people who did bad stuff and were prominently featured as good guys -- think about the prostitutes, tax collectors and other not-so-great people Jesus regularly chose to spend time with. Opposed to them were the guys who seemed to do good stuff but were usually painted as the bad guys in the story -- like the Pharisees or teachers of the law who Jesus often argued with over their judgemental nature and harsh treatment of others. The Pharisees were the church-goers who knew God's word inside and outside. They sat around at the temple (or church) daily, debating what different passages meant. They believed that their knowledge of God's word made them special and more holy than anyone else. More importantly, they knew exactly what the Scriptures said regarding the Messiah or Savior who God promised to send. When they saw that Jesus spent time with....gasp....SINNERS, they were very outspoken in their condemnation of his choice of company. They believed that they, the ones who knew God's word so intimately, should be the ones graced with the presence of the true Messiah when he came. They misunderstood what Jesus was doing with all these misfits. They didn't understand Jesus was hanging out with people who actually needed saving.
Isn't this sometimes true of our own experience? For those of you who grew up spending most every Sunday at church, isn't it easy to expect everyone to think and act like you do? I grew up in church and so I understand who Jesus was, why he came to earth like he did, what he accomplished in my life through his death, burial and resurrection. Because God has transformed my life, I know why it's bad to lie or drink excessively or have sex outside of marriage. Those behaviors hurt me, hurt others and hurt my relationship with God. It all seems so simple to me...because I've known about it my whole life. But it would be a grievous mistake to assume that everyone else knows the same things I know or have had the same life transformation that I had....or make all the same life choices I make. And, it's easy for me to think that my judgement of them is justified. But, I'd be wrong. I'm not the Holy Spirit. I'm not responsible for other people's choices. I'm responsible only for my own life and living in such a way that others want to know about the transforming love of Jesus that they see so clearly in me. I want the misfits of the world to feel as comfortable with me as they felt with Jesus.
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