Sold out for Sweden
I’ve been having a difficult time lately with our attitudes as followers of “The Way” which is a 1st century euphemism for Christianity.
In a new worship… thing (still don’t know what to call things sometimes without speaking “christianese”) this past Sunday, I spoke from the Bible; John chapter 8 where there is an incredible story of Jesus showing heaping tons of grace for a woman caught having sex with a man who wasn’t her husband. Not a ginormous deal by today’s standards but a big issue in that day, to be sure. In this exchange he dealt harshly with the hypercritical religious guys who were ready to kill her, and showed her mercy while still recognizing she needed to stop being a whore. Today that story came back to mind as I read an article posted to Relevant magazine about a man who make friends with some Sunni’s via a class in Sweden. He had an amazing opportunity to share Jesus with them in a way that was real, and relevant for THEIR culture… not forcing his own on them and expecting them to fit. Man, do I need to take a lesson.
I don’t know how to describe it other than to say I’m proud to be aligned with Phil Zarns… he demonstrates the Jesus I read about in the Bible… the man who recognizes wrong thoughts, attitudes, and actions (aka sin) yet provides a way of escape from the lifestyles without condemning the person who needs saving.
