I learned an interesting lesson a few weeks back from an unexpected source.  We had a visitor come to our church on a Wednesday evening who was a Mennonite.  He was expecting a more ‘traditional’ look to our services.  He expected the pastor to be in a suit and tie and I was in jeans and a casual shirt.  He was expecting a certain version of the Bible and didn’t get that either.  He was expecting hymns and got contemporary worship.  The bottom line is this:  We weren’t at all what he expected or what he was used to.  

 

Why does this matter?  It matters to me because of the lesson that I learned from his reaction.  It was crazy and it was wild and I have to tell you, I didn’t see it coming.  You ready???  

 

He stayed!  That’s right, he stayed.  He looked past the fact that this was not in his comfort zone and it was totally different than what he was used to.  It wasn’t what he preferred and yet he stayed.  He came in and shook my hand and sat down and opened his Bible and listened and had a good time.  Amazing!  

 

After church I took him out to dinner because I had some questions for him.  At dinner he thanked me for the message and in all sincerity told me that it was a help and a blessing.  As we sat there, I began to realize something.  We were completely opposite in so many ways, and yet there was something bigger than all those things allowing us to have a wonderful time of fellowship.  As we talked I realized why he was able to look past the little things and stay and get something out of the message.  He loves Jesus!  We sat there and just talked for an hour about how great our God is.  We talked about the beauty of two people from different ends of the cultural spectrum being able to sit and have something transcending in common.  We were both redeemed and overwhelmed.  Though we had differences that we could have argued about for hours, we simply talked about our great and glorious Savior.  The love of Christ transcended the differences!

 

That young mennonite man taught me a valuable lesson that has stuck with me ever since.  The love he had for his Savior transcended the differences and allowed him to partake in something he was uncomfortable with and still hear what God had for him.  That is AMAZING!!!  I  thought, “Wow, that was really cool that he came here and had a great time in spite of all the ‘stuff’.”, but then something struck me.  Would I be able to go to his church and do the same thing?  Could I go into a place where I am not completely comfortable and things are done differently than I would prefer and still hear God?  It turned on it’s head and it caused me to take a hard look at my heart and life.  Do I love Jesus more than my preferences?  Do I love Jesus more that my preferred style of worship?  Do I love Jesus more than my comfort zone?  Surely I do...right?  

 

I’m really glad he stayed.  He taught me a lesson and drove me closer to my Savior.  So to that young mennonite man who I may never see again, thank you.  And to my merciful and grace-filled Rescuer, thank you for showing me Your transcending love when I wasn’t even looking.  

 

In Awe!

Trevor