The Spirit is anything but stingy with solicitations. His mailbag overflows as he distributes clues of the Father’s love, whose default is to include rather than exclude people from his family. Jesus overpaid for as many orphans as would come home with him. And he doesn’t care which orphanage in which he finds them! Conveying …
Non-Christians in Need of a Christian Friend
When Richard Nixon resigned and held up in isolation no one visited him for fear of sullying their reputation, no one except Chuck Colson who risked the trip many times. When asked about it later he said, “To let Mr. Nixon know that someone loved him.” The way I read it Jesus was the sinner’s …
Continue reading "Non-Christians in Need of a Christian Friend"
The Inescapable Web of Mutuality
Friendship is by definition a mutual arrangement, a two-way street. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of us all being bound up in an “inescapable web of mutuality.” They called Jesus a “friend of sinners,” which, for my money, implies more than that he was nice to bad people. He valued their friendship as much as they …
Sinners Befriending Sinners
Rahabs are untouchables who have been pushed out to the margins of society and been refused citizenship in the center with the rest and the “best” of us. Remember, it’s a “friendship” quest into which God has invited us. Neil Cole said, “The Gospel flies best on the wings of relationships.” Friendship is by definition …
Vulnerability and Mutual Trust
My general rule of thumb is to convey the radical cost of accepting or rejecting the gospel at a level commensurate with the trust I’ve built with someone. Otherwise it feels like I’m shouting at them from across the chasm to come over to our side. Once they trust me they’ll be more apt to …
