There are people who think with their mood. There are also people who think with their mind and or heart. We walk and have our existence beside them or far away from them. The one area we should be concerned about is our own life. How do we, when given the chance, present Christ to others where they are? Leaving our world and entering theirs is difficult until we decide to look at things the way they do. That doesn't mean abandoning our stance on subjects as much as it is being in their world to communicate. Communicating becomes problematic when we don't take this part into consideration. If I only look at the world through my glasses (metaphorically or for real) then I cannot meet people where they are. Much less convey where my thinking is coming from and why. So, I take a deep breath, assess where the other person is coming from and try to enter their world on their terms. That doesn't mean I abandon my world but rather, see their world for what it is. I'm not here to suggest that anyone abandon who they are.
Buddy and Henry (my dogs) are so different that their differences are comical at times. Buddy has an internal clock that tells him that when we are awake in the morning (regardless of time) it is time to feed him. There is no other choice in his mind. Henry is more of the "I hate to bother you." type of dog. Mealtimes are not an issue like they are for Buddy. In the evening Buddy begins his hungry act up around 6:00 PM and continues to feign pending death from starvation while Henry knows that when Buddy is fed so will he be fed. For that reason alone he doesn't have to create a situation related to his getting dinner or breakfast. Henry is more conniving whereas Buddy is more blunt. They think differently but have the same needs. They need food and water as well as sleep. Their means of obtaining their need is much different from their want of tummy rubs. Henry loves to chase a tennis ball where Buddy tells you to go get the ball yourself. Henry weasels his way into any situation where Buddy is getting attention while Buddy doesn't want to be part of the chaos Henry brings to the table.
You and I represent "our" world to others. Should we just do this we are doomed to be outside a big chunk of the world of everyone. The reality is Jesus became an example of our being Him to the world. Many Christians live a selfish life of only seeing others faith as compared to our faith. We may be right is thought and wrong in presentation. If I present a thought from my heart to someone who has a thought from their mind, we and they miss the point. When any of us present Jesus to others in Jesus' way, the Gospel is heard and we respond. Jesus urged us to "be all things to all people." In other words, we are called to engage people on their terms and rely on God for getting the Gospel presented. People have changes over time either from realization of a greater truth or just a modification of what truth they have. It's important we remain flexible in order to present the Word to all people. This "language of Christ" is not meant to be something we step in and out of. This needs to be our primary language in all of our world. How else will they see, hear and know Jesus?
The new year is upon us. I don't do well with making pledges to not do this or to do that because they are usually broken within the first month. What Jesus asks us to do is to be more like him. He doesn't ask us to be him for good reason...we can't be him. We can be a representation of Him to our world. We like Buddy and Henry listen to different needs presented to the world. Sometimes we are speaking with one person and someone near us understands what others don't understand. For this we can be thankful. God was doing what was needed through you. Often we don't even know that we have been doing His will until much later. That's a good thing. We would do well to get out of God's way more often so that He can work through us. Make a daily commitment to step out of yourself to allow God to change someone else's world.
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