You call that a knife... This is a knife!

Have you ever felt like you were completely unprepared for the task at hand? In Sunday school this week we discussed Romans 6:12-13.

¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ¹³and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

I told the class that next week we would be having a competition. For this competition they would need an instrument. I had them each draw their instrument of choice on a paper without any other details. The word “instrument” conjures the image of a tool, something neutral, like a musical device or a fork. The Greek word behind this word instrument however has a completely different connotation. It is not a neutral instrument, for which there is another word entirely, but rather an instrument of war; a weapon. Every other time this word is used in the NT it is translated as weapon. I had each person show their instrument of choice. As they did so, I explained that our competition would be a battle to the death and that they were only allowed to use their instrument. Needless to say, they would be ill prepared with their understanding of the word instrument.

So… Last night as I was perusing the websites of some teenagers I came to realize that I was ill prepared to handle the task before me with my current set of instruments. I have been trying to use a bow and arrow against a tower shield; a dagger against cavalry. Maybe I was out of touch in my own generation, easily possible, or maybe things have changed drastically in the ten years since I started high school. The issues that these kids are dealing with were not even on my radar. As such, my teaching style and presentation of the gospel has been inadequate to pierce to the heart. Yes, God can do anything, and his word never returns void, but there are social nuances that must be taken into account lest those saving words fall on deaf ears. Paul says that he had become all things to all men so that by all means he might save some. As such, I do not think I am out of line in my thinking. I must adapt, but without compromising solid Biblical foundations. God is a rock, solid and concrete. He is also a living being, and will relate to his people on a personal level. It is easy for me to see in black and white, but the blind cannot see. It is difficult to explain what the world looks like to someone who cannot see, but I must try.