God’s Surprising Ways
The Lord wants us to be receptive to Him (Ps 85:8, Beck). We are to pay extremely close attention to Him (Heb 2:1, AAT). This should not be a burdensome duty but something we passionately desire to do. After all, He seeks to lead us into love, light, and laughter. He wants us to enjoy Him. Yet, His ways are different than ours. If we are not receptive, we can miss His life-giving words. In such carelessness, we show that we are really not concerned about our genuine well-being. We despise ourselves when we are not receptive to Him (Prov 15:31-32, Berkeley).
God honors receptivity. Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, not in Jerusalem, because the Galileans were more receptive (Mt 4:12). The Lord also encourages His servants to normally focus their ministry on those who are receptive (Mt 10:11, CW). Notice that it is the Galileans who were receptive. They lived at the religious fringe and were viewed as religious outcasts and nerds, if you will, by the religiously ‘cool’ people in Jerusalem. The Galileans were not religious middle-of-the-roaders. They were different, not fully orthodox. Hence, they were open to Jesus’ ministry which was different than what was commonly expected of the Messiah. Jesus proclaimed things, such as His ability to forgive sins and His oneness with the Father, which were NOT part of orthodox thinking. This is why the unorthodox Galileans, rather than the oh-so-orthodox Jerusalemites, were receptive to Jesus.
Do you live on the edges of Christianity, so to speak? The Lord may see you quite differently than much of the orthodox church does. Jesus interpreted Scripture in some ways that were radically at variance with the mainstream religious thinking of His day. If we learn to interpret the Bible so we can see His hints, we may be more open to what He is saying to us today. Remember, Jesus was a Galilean and focused on the receptive Galileans. How ‘Galilean’ are you?
Comforting others is costly but worth it.