Ministry

I don’t know what your life experience has been, but I grew up in a world where it was natural and normal not to trust those who were different to me. 

It wasn’t necessarily because something was wrong with me, or because the people around me had something wrong with them. Even though there was something wrong with all of us. It was because it is simply easier to spend time with people that are like us, and in a complicated world, we all crave something easy. 

Christians – like all people – easily fall into the trap of forming communities with those who are like-minded, who share similar interests, or similar cultural backgrounds, or similar political views. 

But Jesus has a better way – and Christians have, can, and do live this better way. In early Christianity, a remarkable thing happened: Races that never associated with each other came together. The rich, rather than shunning the poor, embraced them. Masters and slaves were treated equally. Women and children were deemed to be as important as men. All of this happened because the first Christians had seen how Jesus treated people, and they were determined to do the same. 

This was so shocking to the people of the time that in what is now known as the New Testament, different writers had to speak into how this ‘new community’ looked. On one occasion, a man called Paul (who started off hating Christians, and then to his surprise became one) wrote about how every person is important in the community, how everyone is needed – that if they seem less significant to us, that this is not true as far as God is concerned. Referring to the Christian Community as a body, he wrote this: "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don’t need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don’t need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.." (1 Corinthians 12:21-22). 

Sometimes we struggle to relate to those who are different to us. That’s natural. That’s normal. But what is better, is to look at those different to us and instead conclude: “That person, who is different to me, is needed. Is valuable. Is important”. 

My challenge for you today is to treat those who are different to you as being really important to you. Find a way to show them how important they are. Serve them. Bless them. Help them. And you will give them a taste of how Jesus treats people as you do so. 

Have a great day! 

Chris Mann

College Pastor