Don't Be Shellfish 🦞🦀
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:23- 24
As followers of Christ, we know that we are "fishers of men". This means we go out among those who may or may not believe as we believe and we integrate so that we can illuminate.
The Bible makes it clear, as can be seen for example in 1st Corinthians 10:23 - 11:1, that we not only have the freedom to be among those with different beliefs, but that we are expected to.
Ours is not a call of standoffishness, but one that is a call to "Go" into all parts of the world to shine the light of Christ and make known His glory for all to see. We are called to mix and mingle, not with an air of superiority, but with a servant's heart.
Our calling is to humble ourselves, even when we don't really have to. This... is sacrifice.
This is the call of grace upon our lives. To know the truth and to share it with others (regardless of what they think of you) so they too can be set free by this Truth that we have come to behold and be caretakers of.
This means that we should not be okay with just knowing the truth about Christ and being content with locking away in our shells like turtles and hiding behind the security of our whole armour like lobsters.
We ought not to live like hermit crabs... withdrawn from a world that needs us and yearns for the gifts that God has implanted in us. That kind of living doesn't benefit the body of Christ... and it certainly doesn't benefit those who need to meet and greet Christ.
Nay. Our mandate is to set an example for others to follow. Our lifestyle when we live as Christ instructs makes it obvious that we are living out love in action.
This is the kind of thing that draws people to find out more about this "unknown God" that their hearts have been yearning for. This is how we get the opportunity to point them to the Source of that Love.
Be encouraged therefore and at the same time, be reminded, that we are not called to a selfish lifestyle as God's emissaries. We are called to share... and the most important thing we could share, is the Gospel.
So, let's infiltrate, captivate, be the bait... be all those things, but just remember, as you swing among the fishes in the sea... Don't Be Shellfish.