When was the last time you did something really outside your comfort zone? I don't mean you had coffee from Starbucks instead of Costa, or started shopping at Aldi instead of Tesco's. I mean in terms of who you reached out to with the gospel?
This afternoon at Yorkshire Training in the preaching workshop we were led through Mark 7v24-37. As we were taken through it I was reminded again that Jesus takes his disciples out of their comfort zone; geographically - they go to Tyre and the Decapolis, and religiously - Jesus ministers to a Syro-Phoenician woman and a deaf and mute man. Given that just before this Jesus has been challenged by the Pharisees about the uncleanness of his disciples and then teaches on what really defiles it is telling that Jesus goes straight to those the Pharisees and the Jews, including the disciples, would see as unclean.
It's a lesson Jesus has to teach the early church, using persecution to drive them out to Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth. It's a lesson that has to be constantly kept in mind by the early church (Acts 15, Galatians 2, Ephesians 2). The gospel of Jesus Christ sees outsiders made insiders who then reach outsiders. It sees those outside the kingdom brought into the kingdom and then reach out and bring more outsiders into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
The gospel is for everyone in every place. That challenge remains today when did I last take the gospel where I was uncomfortable trusting in the power of the gospel to save? Who are those I am tempted to think are outside the gospels reach and am I prepared to follow Jesus out of my comfort zone to reach them with the gospel that saves?
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