In The Grey
I recently went out to eat with a good friend of mine. We rode together to a restaurant, and we had a conversation about how sometimes we come across a debate regarding an idea, or even a poem, that leaves you in a grey area. I quickly remarked how I feel uncomfortable with a conversation that ends with something like: “The answer is A. The answer is also B, and the answer is also A and B.”
These conversations that end with conclusions that require some combination of calibration, judgement, and wisdom can be found in every area of our lives, even in our faith. That definitely makes me sort of uncomfortable, and that is exactly where we found ourselves on Sunday.
The sermon was, in (very brief) summary, about how in Acts 15, Barnabas and Paul were trying to contextualize the good news of Jesus by making it understandable and clear to the Gentiles. They were trying to do this without detracting from the distinctiveness of the way of Jesus.
In the first service, Kyle discussed how we ought to approach contextualizing the Gospel to lost people similarly to the way Paul and Barnabas did. In doing so, he used the metaphor of using the authority of God’s word and reliance on the Holy Spirit as bowling bumpers.
I got caught up in that analogy. Imagine with me … we are the bowling ball that is flying down the lane straight towards the pins. Luckily, there are the bumpers on either side of us that allow us to reach our destination without getting derailed. There will be moments where we need one bumper more than the other, nonetheless we will rely on both to get us where we want to go.
As I got plugged-in to the second service, I was finding some grey area in my analogy. What would the bowling pins represent? Who threw the ball in the first place? How do I figure out how this all comes together? Simultaneously I recognized my discomfort with the inherent grey area involved in contextualizing the gospel while remaining faithful to the distinctiveness of Christianity.
When we try to calibrate how to honor the distinctiveness of Christianity while contextualizing the good news of Jesus to lost people, we find ourselves in this grey area. This grey area is a catalyst for a rising “fever of discomfort” as Kyle would say. I’m finding that there are plenty of places in the conversation of God’s character where we might find ourselves unable to draw clear, concise, conclusive decisions or beliefs. I’m also finding that in that uncomfortable place … in that grey area, the Holy Spirit and God’s Word help keep us on track as we roll down the lane.
As the conversation with my friend concluded, he wisely said something to me that has been encouraging me in the context of this reflection. He was talking about what he does when he is in a similar scenario, and he said: “you just gotta be okay with being in the grey.” So, I’m learning to be okay with being in the grey and growing in my ability to live with a “low-grade fever of discomfort” so that more people might know Jesus.
-Preston
Preston Michalski is married to Tessa, and they live in Niles with their dog, Ponyo. Preston is the Director of Communications and leads the Regen Tech Team.
