One of the many values I have in my life is to do whatever it takes to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is so very precious to me, yet I do not want to spend the majority of my life keeping it all to myself.
The meal above is a favorite of our Cambodian kids that we have rescued and it was one of my first meals in Asia on a mission's trip. I was seated around a table with a group of people we wanted to reach and in my soup were 2 chicken claws. Now to this American it seemed like I was getting the leftovers, yet for the Cambodians it was a delicacy. I said a quick prayer and asked God to help me to eat it.
I have eaten plenty of foods and passed a few things under the table so that I would not offend one's generosity, so that I had a foot to stand on when it came to sharing Jesus with others. Most of you know that I do not drink any kind of alcohol whatsoever, never have and never will except on one mission's trip. It is a personal choice of liberty I have made for a variety of reasons. On one occasion in Vietnam on an exploratory evangelistic mission's trip I was handed a beer and a glass of rum to drink. It would have offended the Doctor's hospitality if I refused to sip on the alcohol. I had a tough decision to make, but was already prepared ahead of time for this moment. You see before I left I asked people in my church to pray for me and to not let this one sip of Alcohol create a hunger for more in my life.
As I drank the Alcohol there was great peace knowing that I was doing this for the cause of Jesus and to reach this young doctor for Jesus. I didn't make a big deal about it, just prayed that God would use this sacrifice for me for his good. You see in my background are many alcoholics and I never want to feed something that I might have a predisposition towards.
As for chicken feet I pushed them down my throat because one soul is worth a few gags if the seed of the Gospel gets planted. All that to say this; we must be open to use great wisdom and judgement in order to reach others for Jesus. For you it might mean sitting in a group of people who look different then you, or spending time at a gathering where it is obvious you do not fit in.
I encourage you to be willing to do whatever it takes to reach someone without sinning so that they too can experience the life-changing power of Jesus Christ!
2 comments:
Well said Jim.
I was a missionary in Ecuador for awhile and my "family" had their favorite and special meal often of broth with chicken parts...they always gave me the claws:)
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