The Gutter

Why is it that fundamentals of Christianity are so hard for me to get sometimes? I was raised going to church and reading the Bible and after 23 years I should have a pretty good idea of what Christianity is all about. It's funny to me the way things hit me out of nowhere that I think I should've gotten all along.

For years and years my thoughts about being a Christian were that I should be set apart from the world, apart from sin, apart from all of the evil things that are taking place. I spend most of my time with my Christian friends, hanging out with them, eating with them, living with them, and going to my church and my Bible studies and everything that is safe. I have come to realize however, that while it is ultimately true that Christians are set apart from the world, we are also put in the world. In Matthew chapter 10 Jesus is sending his disciples out to go to the "lost sheep." He tells them, "I am sending you out as sheep among wolves, therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matt 10:16

As Christians we are not called to spend time in our comfort zones where we feel safe. This is not where we are needed. We are needed by the lost. The people who are in sin, in the gutter. These are the people who aren't just going to stumble into church where all the Christians are spending their time being holy and apart from everything associated with sin. We have to go into these gutters and show them the way out, the way we got out. We can do it too because, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline." 1 Tim 1:7

I came to this realization when I read the book, "The Gutter" by Craig Gross. He has a ministry for those involved in the porn industry. He isn't standing outside the porn conventions telling everyone that they are going to hell. Instead, he is setting up his own booth at the convention and forming relationships with the people there.

I always thought you could help people know God by just being an example of what a Christian should be. Yeah, being an example is great and wonderful. But people don't just need examples, they need relationships.

I could go on and on about this, but I think you should just read the book. It makes a lot of sense and I don't know why I didn't realize this before......