1 Corinthians 9:15-27
Paul is talking about how sharing and spreading the Good News, the Gospel (that Jesus died for our sins and rose again), is the most important responsibility he's been entrusted with. He uses the example of running a race with a prize of eternal rewards to help us understand just how important this is. Now sharing the Gospel might seem challenging, maybe even a little scary for some of us. So thankfully Paul shows us what he did to reach many, many people--he used the common ground approach. In other words, when he was with the Jews, he became as the Jews, when with the Gentiles, he became as the Gentiles, when he was with the weak, he became weak. He approached people where they were at, but (and this is an important but) he made sure not to be outside the law of God, but obeying the law of Christ as he did this (vs. 21).
So do you have any stories about how you've used this "common ground approach" to share the Gospel? We'd love to hear them. Who might you use this approach with going forward? Tami W.
I like the "running the race" analogy and the take that we will win a reward at the end. Overlooked, however, is the fact that just as the runner receives some benefits WHILE running we can and do receive benefits here and now for serving God.
In order to run, there has to be training. I believe that God gives each of us experiences that lead up to some situations where, if we look back over our lives, we realize why we had the training or experiences. All we do is meant for the benefit of others. After all, no one is alone in their experiences.