Yesterday evening, I went somewhere I never expected I would go: the local pool hall.
For the record, I have nothing against pool. I get how the game works, but coordination and eyeing angles and trajectories have never been my strong suit. It’s fascinating to watch, but since I don’t play, I don’t frequent a place where that is the main feature. Last night’s venture was so I could watch the young lady that I mentor play in her league finals. Her parents were playing on the opposing team, so we had some family rivalry going on, which made the game more fun (in my opinion). I’m also a people-watcher, and that was definitely a great place to observe people.
Between games, my friend and I got into a conversation about how people there at the pool hall would likely classify us as “pure” because we don’t join in with drinking/smoking/language/etc, but how people from Christian circles would likely view us as “tainted” because we chose to pass an evening in such a location. We talked about how some believers deem things demonic (for example, fantasy books and TV shows because of magic, etc.) when at their roots, it’s actually art and our Creator is also an Artist (just look at creation for evidence!).
By the way, this post is not meant to shame anyone or defend one viewpoint or another. For myself, I do read fantasy and enjoy dressing up as characters and such. But this kind of conversation always gets me thinking about the expectations believers have of one another–and the expectations the Jewish people had for their awaited Messiah.
Jesus was expected to be a conquering king who arrived with a sword and the power to depose Rome and restore the Jews to their rightful place in the world. Instead, they received a gentle and humble Messiah who had a habit of hanging out in places where they didn’t think He should be. There are many examples of this, but I’m going to use one of my favorite stories in John chapter 4, the woman at the well, to illustrate this.
When Jesus and His disciples were traveling from Judea to Galilee, they went through Samaria to a town called Sychar. At this time, the Jews wanted nothing to do with the Samaritans and avoided them at all costs. Yet Jesus charted a path that took them through Samaria to a well at midday, where He stopped to rest. There, He encountered a lone woman who came to the well in the heat of the day to draw water.
The women then would have gone out in the morning before the day got properly hot, but this woman preferred the solitude and faced the hottest part of the day to accomplish this errand. Through her conversation with Jesus, we find out that she had been married and divorced four times, and that she currently liveed with a man she is not married to. She probably came out on her own to avoid the judgment of the other women of the town. But at the well, she encountered a Man who would change everything for her–a Man who requested water and in turn offered her living water and revealed Himself to be the long-awaited Messiah.
The Messiah. There at the well in the heat of the day, speaking to an outcast woman, telling her of all people who He was and offering her new life. This is not where those expecting the Messiah thought they should find Him. Neither should He eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’ (Matthew 9:9-13), nor be approached and anointed by a sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50), nor welcome the little children to His presence (Mark 10:13-16).
These are the people the Messiah chose, because He didn’t come to free His people from physical tyranny, but rather from the heart condition that held them captive. (Read more about Jesus’s actions during Holy Week and why He got mad here.) This is why Jesus chose to go to unlikely places to meet and rescue those who needed freedom.
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.
~Matthew 9:12-13 (NIV)
As the hands and feet of Jesus to the world, we are called to go to unlikely places and meet people with His love. While I believe that fellowship with fellow Christians is crucial because iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17) so we grow in faith and understanding of God, we are also to be light in dark places. If we never go to dark places, we cannot shine bright. Having people in our circle of acquaintances who are not saved is actually healthy, because we can live out our faith in front of them and plant or water seeds in them that may one day explode into growth.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
~Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)
Jesus was sent to preach the Good News. He commissioned us to go and do the same (Matthew 28:19-20). That means we need to go to the unlikely places to find those who have been forgotten. It’s not something to fear; it’s for us to embrace. When we are anchored in our Savior, we have nothing to fear and can walk in confidence no matter where we go.
Embrace the unlikely places. People there need Jesus too.
Blessings,
~Lynne
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