Good Thursday to you my ‘Walking with Jesus” friends,
When you hear the word “Chameleon” I wonder what images come to your mind? I’ve just spent a few moments reading scientific information about this remarkable animal of which there are more than 200 different species found mostly in Africa and the Middle East. Yes, it’s true, this lizard-like creature can in fact change the color of its appearance in response to different stimuli or the environment in which it finds itself. Now here’s my question… have you seen people who adapt to a wide range of environments or circumstances to the point they almost seem like different people depending on who they are with or the circumstances in which they find themselves? Is that a character flaw or a sign of amazing adaptability?
We’re with the apostle Paul in the mid first century and believe it or not, he is addressing this issue as he writes his first letter to his Christian friends in the greatly diverse city of Corinth, Greece. Let’s listen in as Paul dictates and Timothy scribes and let’s try to understand how Paul’s words apply to you and me today: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many people as possible. To the Jews, I have become a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might win some. I do all this for the sake of the Gospel...” (1 Cor. 9:19-23) Now does that sound like the famous apostle Paul is declaring himself to be a human Chameleon? And does it sound as though Paul has worked hard at becoming whatever people need him to be in order that they might hear, understand and respond to the Gospel of Jesus by trusting their lives to Jesus?
Well, yes, in part that is what Paul is saying! You’ll recall Paul was born into a Jewish family and worked very hard to excel in his Jewish studies. His goal was to become a faultless Pharisee and one of the great teaching scholars of his day. In his letter to the Galatians, (Gal. 1) Paul recounts his educational accomplishments and his rapid rise to power and fame in Jerusalem. This background enabled Paul to enter any Synagogue in the world and with confidence engage in discussion or even debate with any Rabbi, any congregation of Jews, any scholar and often Paul did so winning Jews to accept the truth that Jesus is the Christ, their long-awaited Messiah.
But Paul had also experienced both an encounter with the resurrected Jesus Christ, on the road to Damascus, (Acts 9) and an extended time alone in the desert with the Holy Spirit of God. (Gal. 1:17,18) It was in these experiences Paul gained a God given passion and ability to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Gentiles and others who had no understanding of Jews or Judaism or the Old Testament of the Bible. On all three of Paul’s great missionary journeys, he was led by the Holy Spirit to visit and spend time in cities, across the Roman empire, where the Gospel of Jesus had never been proclaimed. He did so even among pagans who had no interest in religion or God whatsoever! And we’ve seen as we traveled with Paul, the response to his proclamation of the Gospel and his teaching of the deeper truths of Jesus were met with enthusiastic acceptance by a wide range of people, both Jews and Gentiles.
But Paul also experienced total rejection from both Jews and Gentiles. That rejection sometimes became violent, and Paul bore the scars of beatings and having been shackled in prison cells. But even there, in prison, Paul proclaimed the Gospel and both jailers and fellow prisoners heard of Jesus, and some trusted their lives to Jesus. Yes, I think we could say Paul was a Holy Spirit filled ‘chameleon like’ follower of Jesus who successfully built friendships with, proclaimed the Gospel to, and helped grow spiritually, people from almost the entire spectrum of humanity in the first century Roman empire! Now that’s quite a statement, isn’t it?
But in fairness, we need to look at the other side of this ‘chameleon’ phenomenon when seen in people. For Paul, while he tried to adapt to almost every and any situation, while remaining true to his convictions and trying to live a God honoring life, Paul came under merciless attack, especially from Jews who felt Paul had betrayed his Jewish ancestry, his Rabbinical education, his Pharisaical training, and in some cases, Paul was accused of betraying God! (Acts 14:19; 15:1-5) Why? Because Paul associated with, befriended and shared the Gospel of Jesus with people who were not Jews and in some cases people who didn’t even like Jews!
I wonder my friends, as we’ve traveled with Paul over these past several weeks, do you find clarity or ambiguity in Paul’s preaching and teaching? Do you find consistency or unpredictability in his behavior? Do you find trustworthiness or irresponsibility in Paul? And perhaps the biggest question… do you find integrity or dysfunction in Paul? You see my friends, you and I live in a very eclectic, diverse, and too often dysfunctional world, just like Paul did. We are surrounded by people from many different cultures, languages and ethnicities. But even more is the diversity in world views, or value systems, or perspectives on what is TRUTH/Lies and RIGHT/Wrong?
So how do you and I today, no matter where we are in the world, apply Paul’s statement to our lives as guard rails for our life journey: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means, I might win some. I do this for the sake of the Gospel…” (1 Cor. 9:22,23)
May I give you four thoughts that might help us chart a healthy, God honoring, life course as “spiritual chameleon” followers of Jesus?
1. I live my life ultimately for an audience of ONE... God Himself, knowing I will stand in accountability before HIM one day, and His evaluation of my life is the only evaluation that really counts for all eternity! That helps me face the wide array of opinions on how I should live my life.
2. I live my life with eternity in view! My lifetime, regardless of how long, will be a speck of time from the perspective of eternity, so I seek God’s wisdom to help me make wise choices now which I’ll be proud of during my eternity.
3. Satan and the dark kingdom is ultimately defeated by the risen, victorious Jesus Christ, my Savior! I refuse to allow the dark kingdom any foothold, any advantage in my life.
4. I live my life understanding every choice, every day I am writing MY story. No one else is to blame or holds responsibility for me and my story. As I grow old, my friends and family will live in the shadow of my life story that I have written.
Now let’s ponder all this while we listen to this great worship song, and I’ll see you tomorrow again…
Today’s Scripture is 1 Cor. 9:19-23.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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