Detecting Our Temperature

Michael Ryan

Rachid (not his real name) was attacked and shot not long after returning from his travels, because he questioned Islam and was intrigued by Christianity. The Muslims around him wanted him dead, so he fled to Jordan and managed to get refugee status to come to the West. While in Jordan at an orientation briefing with other Muslims, he was told when he got to America, Christians would come to his house and give him things. He was advised to take what they gave him, but not listen to what they had to say . . . they also told him that if he ever went to a church he would be prohibited from entering. “Americans just don’t like Muslims,” he was told.

So begins John Klassen’s book “Engaging with Muslims.” Of course, some Americans don’t like Muslims. However, a serious follower of Jesus cannot come to that conclusion. Much is misunderstood about what Christians believe and what we do when we gather.  At the same time, many believers do take a casual attitude about whether or not they gather. Many Christians don’t expect to encounter God or even have their lifestyles challenged.

The danger is being “Asleep in the Light” as Keith Green sang many years ago. We can be lulled to sleep by our desire for comfort. That desire can keep us locked into the same circle of friends. It can keep us going to the same grocery stores and restaurants, reading the same books, watching the same TV shows, and watching the same news. That self-inflicted isolation prevents us from encountering people or ideas that challenge us in healthy ways. If we never leave our comfort zone, we miss the opportunity to examine new ways of thinking. We never question if the way we are living our lives and conducting ourselves at home or in church is really getting us where we need to go.

Culture is not something we notice or question unless we get close enough to another culture to notice it is different. Culture is a lot like the temperature of a room. You don’t think much about the temperature in a room unless you go into it and it is significantly colder than what you were expecting or a whole lot warmer than what you’re comfortable with. Then you notice it.

The challenge for you and me is to engage with and to make friends of people who did not grow up in the same culture. We don’t have to travel far to do that. Meeting people who think and worship differently can push us around in healthy ways. There are millions of people, who equate American culture with the Christian faith. That view is neither fair nor flattering.

Sunday at BP we will explore a short scripture text, Colossians 3:15-17. This passage will challenge and help to reshape our culture.  It has the power to create a distinction between real followers of Jesus and those who say they believe but have no serious intent to follow him.

-Gene Cornett