Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [97] Sonnet of Love (9) Love is not Rude

Missionary Blues

I remember talking to a western senior veteran missionary from the Congo (DRC) about short-term missionaries. He was surprisingly dismissive! I asked him why and his reply was immediate: they had come to the Congo thinking - and surely hoping and praying - that they would make a real difference in a short time, but instead they had offended many of the locals because they did not understand the culture.

He said that a western missionary was "useless" (I remember his exact words) until they had been in the Congo for at least 5 years!

Now, I hope those words don't discourage readers from considering Christian service! My guess is that short-term missionary service is more profitable for the short-term missionary than for the mission field to which they go. So much can be learnt from another culture and from living in another land.

All Things to All Men

The key to effective missionary service is found in 1 Corinthians 9:22:

"I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."

We must first become like the people we are called to serve. We must enter their world, eat their food, wear their dress, speak their language - or lingo - adopt their customs, grasp their worldview. Only then will we understand them enough to effectively reach them.

Example? Jesus!

The divine Son of God left behind the trappings of heaven - all the glory and majesty and divinity - and became like those he sought to save. He came not only as a man but as a Jewish man, fully entering that one culture of that one day.

Result? He communicated so effectively with the locals that crowds came to listen.

My parents worked for 20 years in India and then Pakistan before they were ready to reach Asians in Wolverhampton. Over those 20 years of relative unfruitfulness they changed, for example, their music tastes: from guitar to sitar, from keyboard to harmonyum, from drum to tabla. This was not a mask, it was real: my father gave up western music for eastern.

Result? The Lord blessed their efforts in Wolverhampton in a most remarkable way.

Love is Not Rude

We could summarise all I have said thus far in Paul's next description of divine love, "Love is not rude."

The Greek word underneath "is not rude" means "something without proper shape or form." Something out of place. Something that stands out - but not pleasantly. It simply does not fit - like a singer out of tune, like a weed in a well manicured garden.

A bull in a China shop is rude. A missionary who fails to understand the culture they are called to reach and blunders on - or worse still criticises it - is rude. A Christian who is knowingly awkward in disposition or viewpoint is rude.

In the church at Corinth some people had VERY STRONG VIEWS about food offered to idols! And they did not hesitate to LET EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT IT! They were - RUDE!

Love self-sacrifices

The characteristic of love Paul brings out here, then, is that love is prepared to make many personal sacrifices for the good of others.

I remember a brother who believed in infant baptism (a paedobaptist). He joined fellowship with a baptist church. Not once did he mention his (strongly held) viewpoint in the many long hours of fellowship and discussion I enjoyed with him one-to-one and in group meetings. It was only many years later I learnt he was a paedobaptist! When I did, my estimate of him rose infinitely!

What mattered most to this dear Christian brother was the well-being of everyone else. So he decided to say nothing about his views, because love is not rude.

The best example I can think of - anyone can think of - is the Great Missionary, the Lord Jesus Christ, who left One Glorious Realm to enter a very different one for our sakes. The One who for our sakes became poor.

Summing it All Up

Whenever I want to be different for difference's sake then I am rude. Whenever I want to "stand out" of the crowd, then I am rude. Whenever I want to argue over a trivial matter, then I am rude. Whenever I refuse to fit in (we're not talking about compromise here), then I am rude.

And when I am rude, I have ceased to be loving, for instead of sacrificing X, Y and Z, for the sake of another, I exalt X,Y and Z, causing my brothers and sisters discomfort if not pain.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

We need an incarnation Christmas song if we are to catch the meaning of "love is not rude."

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying "Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee."
My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.

There are no singers on this CLIP, so you'll have to belt it out using your own voice. Go on, give it a try!

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

We thank you for this new day and for your generous kindness to us in every way.

We thank you for the love of your Son towards us. We thank you that he did not come to earth in the form of an angel or some alien creature, but came as a man, like us, so that he could understand us and stand in for us as a substitute for our human sin.

Teach us to be like him. Forgive us when we have been rude and teach us to give up our shibboleths for the sake of others.

We ask this so that the world may be won by your love working through us.

In Christ's Name we ask these things,

Amen

Photo by christian buehner on Unsplash