I believe Paul’s intent innocently wanders off course at times and finds itself lost in translation amidst our zeal to rescue the lost. The crux of Paul’s dialogue contained in this passage centers on “relationship.” Paul’s influence and success in reaching the lost hinged on his innate ability to establish “relationship.”

It is this God-given gift of “relationship” that enables one to cross all social, economic, and racial barriers. It is the gift of “relationship” that transcends all educational, philosophical, political, and religious beliefs and ideals. Only “relationship” is capable of genuinely expressing the intense and unconditional love, care, concern, and faithfulness of a Heavenly Father who has directed every fiber of his immense love towards us. It is this gift of “relationship” that our Majestic Creator saw fit to intermingle with our DNA. We each possess it but sadly for some it remains dormant and untapped. Paul lived and breathed “relationship”. His declaration in 1st Corinthians 9:22 was a direct result of “relationship.”

With that revelation stirring in our hearts, we enthusiastically accepted the invitation our landlord extended us to attend a Rosary with several of her closest friends. Our minds reeled with a multitude of notions, “We don’t subscribe to this form of prayer and petition….. I’m a Pastor not a Priest……. we are intruding on their most sacred act of worship…. are they expecting us to participate?……  should we have brought some rosary beads?”

Upon our arrival we were quickly escorted into the living room. Three other families were in attendance all seated in a circle around the living room. Everyone participated, adults and children. As they recited prayers, we also prayed quietly under our breaths in the manner we were accustomed to praying so as not to disturb the flow of the Rosary. A half hour later as the prayers were coming to a close, they quite unexpectedly inquired if there were any prayer requests we had. My wife shared a couple, after which they all earnestly prayed for our requests.

Our hearts were humbled and moved with compassion that evening as this gathering of families and strangers accepted us into their hearts and home. They shared with us one of their most intimate and personal acts of worship as a family. “Relationship” was birthed that night in the most unexpected of venues. New bonds had been forged, new opportunities had been created, new doors had been opened.

The Rosary invitation had to have been orchestrated by God himself. Unbeknown to us, He was laying the groundwork for a divine appointment set to intercept our landlady and her son the first night of the crusade in one of the most desperate and impoverished areas of the city. Only the God of the universe could facilitate the most ironic of scenarios; a wealthy, upper-class, high society, doctor volunteering to assist our team with an outreach crusade in the most desolate and dirty part of the city.

Here she was sweating, hands dirty….  inflating balloons, making balloon animals and swords, playing with the kids, and serving everywhere and anywhere she could be of service. She was selfless and enthusiastic as she participated in every aspect of ministry performed that day. She had no clue what this whole event was about but something inside her heart  moved her to action. That evening found her intently hanging on every word I shared as I brought forth God’s word and a message of salvation.

As the message came to a close, I gave an invitation to all who wished to experience the “relationship” I described with the Heavenly Father. Immediately the first two hands that shot up to accept this invitation; Martha, our landlady, and her son. That evening they both discovered the one “relationship” that would alter their lives forever. Martha was so overcome with joy and emotion over her new “relationship” with Christ, she spent the rest of that evening joyfully sobbing.

“Relationship” brought us to that Rosary, which in turn brought Martha and her son to the one “relationship” that truly matters; Christ. Only “relationship” possesses the power to bridge the divide that keeps us from uniting in heart and in faith. Paul’s words convey a message of “relationship.”

Lord, may we not misinterpret this passage to mean that we engage in behavior or activities that aren’t pleasing to you or are not reflective of your character and nature. May we engage in “relationship” to win the lost and not conformity, which the apostle Paul so eloquently describes……Amen!

well i’m erin! i’m 17. the 1st baby of the family. i like to play video games and just do fun things. my favorite color is green, i can be a very loud/dramatic person, because i find things are more fun that way. i’m not fully sure how i feel about living in mexico, but it’ll for sure be a cool experience. since i was about 11 my dad has been taking me with him to mexico on missions trips and i love it! i love going on the trips and getting to interact with the people there, getting to paint their churches or orphanages, and getting to interact with all the kids. i’m not fluent in spanish, so that kind of makes things a little difficult sometimes, but that’ll be a benefit of moving to mexico, i’ll learn spanish! i’ll only be living with my parents in leon for another year, then i get to leave for college. i’m sure that i’ll get to have a very interesting year while in mexico and i’m looking forward to meeting the people there and seeing how all that goes. well i suppose that’s all the interesting things about me. bye!

It never ceases to amaze me how pure of heart children can be. I don’t think we as parents stop to truly ponder the notion that even small kids have passions and desires that stir their hearts. Just as we are stirred and excited over opportunities we long for, they too are stirred. It’s easy to minimize those things that make their hearts race and brush them off as a fad or a whim. My 8 year old daughter reminded me of that as she presented me with a song list of her favorite worship songs she sings in childrens church. She exuberantly declared that she wanted to be the childrens worship leader in our new church plant in Mexico. Her first order of business was to find these songs in Spanish, learn them, and then lead the worship service with her acoustic guitar. Her immediate mission was Spanish lyrics and guitar lessons. I managed to find a couple of translated versions and showed her a couple of more chords. No sooner had I printed them when she suddenly jumped from the couch, eagerly snatched them from the printer, and marched up to her room….. guitar in hand. I guess that’s one less position I have to worry about filling…..   Jeff

Let me tell you a few things about my self ………,well I love softball, I love to sing and dance, I like to bowl, I like to play the Wii with my best friend Noah and my cousins…..I love swimming and ice skating…… I love playing Halo with my dad and going to the movies I love going to the ZDT’S……. I love ponies, puppies and cats, and playing on the computer too…… well, that was long ……ok well I think I’ll stop …….. well bye.

– Kenzie