Insiders and Outsiders

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"The next day, John saw Jesus coming towards Him and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29 NKJV

In our study over the next two days, I would like to look at Christianity firstly in the eyes of the onlooker (the outsider) and then tomorrow, look at Christianity from the yourself (the insider). It sounds complicated but it isn't. What we will actually be doing is sitting on the streets as Jesus walks by and forming an outside opinion. Tomorrow it will be your opinion. This is a form of Anthropology and this data is from The Open University:

Anthropology is the scientific study of humans and human behavior and societies in the past and present. 
The outsider view is the view from the outside: the perspective of the (theoretically) dispassionate observer whose observation does not influence the observed. This can be called the academic view. In the academic discipline of Religious Studies, it is sometimes called the etic perspective. The insider view is that of the practitioners, the people who are engaged in and more or less committed to the group or society in which they move. In Religious Studies, the view from the inside, the perspective of the practitioners, is called the emic perspective. This is a central distinction in the study of religion.

From an Etic perspective, we see here Jesus walking through Bethany and John the Baptist making a prophetic statement about Him to his own disciples. Think about the situation. Jesus was at the start of His ministry and already, He was beginning to stir up attention to Himself. In fact, so much so that John and Andrew later follow Him and along with Peter, Phillip and Nathanial, become His disciples. They are so attracted to Him that they just can't resist Him. We as Christians know that this is the wonderful drawing power of the Holy Spirit. They are the first of Jesus' disciples and will follow Him and be involved in all He does.

From a Etic perspective (outsiders) they are drawn to following Him. There is something that they see in Him that they have never seen or felt before. It is something they can't resist and they want it for themselves. They want to spend time with Him.

From this Etic perspective, what do people see in you. As non- Christians are observing your behaviour (and they do), what do they see. Are they drawn to you like these first disciples? Do they want what you have, even though they don't know what it is? As Christians, we have the calling by Jesus Himself to make disciples. (Matthew 28:16-20). He has commissioned us to do this. People will not know about Him if they're not told. Now we can preach to our friends, family, neighbours and workmates but we can do far better by initially letting them see Jesus through our actions. All Jesus had said to the two inquiring disciples who had asked Him where He was staying, was 'Come and see.' That is all. He had done no teaching, preaching or healing. Just answered their question and they were hooked.
The is the way God wants us to be with all we meet. People are fed up with being used, abused and totally ripped off by this world. They need people they can trust. People who will be there for them. Think for a moment. Is that you? Jesus thinks so.

Why not drop me an email.     dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com