Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 27 June 2016

Monday, June 27, 2016

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 27 June 2016 - "Not put off by difference"

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 27 June 2016 - "Not put off by difference"
Daily Scripture: Romans 14:1-13
Reflection Questions:
“I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons.”[Will Rogers (Actor)] - “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”[Harry S. Truman (33rd U. S. President)]
In case you haven’t noticed, this is an election year. If you visit a friend who votes differently than you do (surely you have at least one such friend), their dog is likely to greet you just as warmly as if you planned to vote “correctly.” The apostle Paul, writing to Roman Christians who held differing convictions, told them Christians do not have to stop loving due to differences. Dogs can certainly help us learn the value of Paul’s counsel: “stop judging each other.”

This passage may at first pull many of us up short. In verses 5-6, Paul said people with opposite religious practices, in all but the very most central elements of the faith, can both be doing what they do “for the Lord.” Is there someone whose worship style or way of living out the faith bothers you because it is so different from yours? Have you ever tried to look at what they do as being done “to the Lord” (as is what you do)?
Instead of judging each other, Paul called on the Romans to “never put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of your brother or sister.” When have you seen a judgmental attitude become a stumbling block to another Christian? How can people who practice the faith differently encourage and love one another, rather than judging?

Today’s Prayer:
Loving Lord, I’m glad that a friendly dog is friendly without quizzing me on 17 points of opinion! Help me to learn from that example as I seek to extend your love and welcome to other people. Amen.
-------Insights from Kaelin Hill

Melanie Hill is the Guest Connections Program Director at Resurrection. She’s also the mom of four great kids, the oldest of which, Kaelin (blue jacket in photo at left) wrote today’s Insights blog.
An open letter from someone “different”:
I am not your average mainstream preteen kid. I like documentaries. I think school is fun. I often find more in common with adults than my peers. I geek out about the books I read and drive my mom insane with trivia about them. I live to make the worst puns possible. My cow jokes are “udderly” horrible–pun intended. It has been said that I am athletically incapable. Let’s just say that while I love school, P.E. is not my favorite subject. When it comes to stressful situations I am a total control freak. It has never been easy for me to make friends. When people walk into a room and start looking for someone to talk to I am usually the last person they wander over to. The truth is, I just have a hard time relating to most kids my age. While these are all things that I am working on, I would like to suggest some food for thought about people who are different.
The first thing I want you to know is that God made us all different. I have embraced my differences, and I wish you would too. Life would be boring if we were all the same. My life is interesting and I would love to share it with more people. Maybe with you. Yeah, you might not get me at first, but give me a chance. You might just be pleasantly surprised. After all, variety is the spice of life. If you take the time to get to know me you will discover that I like helping people, whether that is serving at Vibe or helping a classmate with homework. I’m also pretty creative–you’re looking at the next super architect/great American novelist. Or at least that’s the current plan. And while my puns are ridiculously bad, I love to laugh. But you would miss all this about me if you didn’t look past the surface.
Last, I would say this. I know you are different, too. Your differences might not be as obvious as my buck teeth (no, I’m not related to a beaver, for those of you who keep asking), but you have things that make you different too. Maybe you’re just better at hiding them. But wouldn’t it be nice to be known and loved for who you really are, differences and all? Maybe we should just start at the beginning. You love Jesus. I love Jesus. Let’s go from there.