Stay on Mission – 5th November 2018

3. There are lots of different kinds!
“For the son of man came to seek and to save what was lost” Luke 19:10
Welcome to ‘part 3’ of my brief series that was inspired by my wife Lynn as she went looking for shells on Pensacola Beach.
As Lynn continued with her search for shells she began to find some that she really liked and, after a while she had a good collection. She then wanted to show them to me and pointed out that while she had so many shells they were all different, and it was true. Her wet hands were filled with so many shells of all shapes, sizes and colours, but they were all shells!
Lynn was really pleased that her collection was made up of shells that were not all the same and she told me “It would be so boring if they were all the same, the variety makes the collection much more interesting and exciting”.
The simple statement that she made struck me as deeply significant as we consider what it means to join Jesus in His Mission. Naturally, we so often choose to be with people who are very similar to us, but the Kingdom that Jesus came to build, will be made up of all kinds of people. The people that we should be seeking may have different coloured skin, they may be different shapes and sizes and have different cultural backgrounds and other ways of doing things. But, here is a very important truth: The kingdom of God is not made up of people who are all the same and ‘just like me’. The Kingdom that Jesus came to introduce is to be available to all people, every nation, people group – what an amazing ‘collection’ far greater than Lynn’s sea shells!
This week, take some time to ask the Lord to help you to see people who are ‘different’ from you as being ‘made in His image’ and people that He loves and wants to be reached with the gospel. Ask the Lord to help you to see beyond the things that may hinder you from connecting with them and to give you the passion to join Jesus in His Mission as you seek to introduce Jesus to them.