What stops us from interacting with others on a deep level? I often wonder if I’m approachable, willing to take a risk in. Conversation that would be received well. Jesus did not worry in the least how He was being received. He interacted with anyone and everyone, especially with the marginalized and those on the outside of the inner circle of power. I’m learning that the more I grasp how much He loves me, accepts me, I’m not as worried if I’ll be accepted. I have nothing to prove over anyone. Each of us are sinners yet each of us have unique stories that He wants to transform into His glory.
“Our problem in evangelism is not that we don’t have enough information—it is that we don’t know how to be ourselves. We forget we are called to be witnesses to what we have seen and know, not to what we don’t know. The key on our part is authenticity and obedience, not a doctorate in theology. We haven’t grasped that it really is OK for us to be who we are when we are with seekers, even if we don’t have all the answers to their questions or if our knowledge of Scripture is limited.” - Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker & into the World: Evangelism as a Way of Life
“The meal with Levi and his friends was not an isolated incident. It was something Jesus did throughout his ministry. Underlying his practice was a rejection of the merit-based thinking that produced us–them distinctions along with its better than–less than attitudes. Jesus saw everyone as a beloved child of God and so treated each person with dignity and respect. He refused to treat anyone as “other” or as an outcast or as less than. Jesus understood that grace, expressed in unconditional acceptance, had the power to bring about a genuine change of life, something condemnation and judgment could never do.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford
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