Comfort Zone

There are a lot of words that I've heard my entire life. You have church words like, "saved," but there are other words that are used by all. One of these words is "Comfort Zone."

What is a "Comfort Zone," anyway? Because I'm lazy, we're going to call it CZ for the rest of this post.

As most people reading this probably know, the CZ is the place where you feel like you are in your element. It's where a person feels safe. For me, it's probably in a coffee shop. For you, it could be on your couch in front of your television.

So, why am I talking about the CZ anyway? I'm so glad you asked.

Many people have heard the Great Commission:

"Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you..."

Matthew 28: 19-20

Most people translate that to: Go be a missionary in some foreign country. That's great! I have had my fair share of mission work in my local area and abroad. I plan on continuing in short term missions as God leads, but what about locally? How do people follow the Great Commission locally?

People normally think that since we live in the Bible Belt, we should just invite a lost person to church or a Bible study and then everything will work itself out in this person's life. More power to the people that this works with. But what about the people who say "No?"

Most Christians who receive a "No." when inviting a lost person to a religious function think two things: 1) This person is so lost they won't even go to church. Humbug, I won't invite them anymore, or 2) I'll just keep asking and maybe one day, they'll give me a "Yes."

I used to be a 2.

Lately, God has been talking to me about an alternative. This is where the CZ comes in.

As a young girl, I grew up going to church. Church was a normal thing for me. Sunday, church. Wednesday, church. Thursday night, Bible study. It was like clockwork for me. I felt like inviting a person to go to church was no big deal. That's because that is MY CZ. By inviting someone to church or Bible study with me, I'm asking them to step out of THEIR CZ into mine. It makes me understand a lot better why I get more "No's" than "Yes's."

What am I trying to say here?

Why don't we, as Christians, step out of OUR CZ into the CZ of the unbeliever? Paul did it:

"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it."

1 Corinthians 9: 19-23

He developed relationships with the lost, but he didn't veer from his Christian doctrine. What would that verse look like today?

For I am free from all men, I have stepped out of my CZ, so that I may win more to Christ. To the ________, I became a ________, always glorifying Christ, so that I could win the ________.

I'm not saying that this path is easy. If you are reading this and think that this alternative route is for you: I say that you should use extreme caution. Many have tried this and failed. They find that stepping into the realm of the unbeliever is too much to handle. Many have made compromise after compromise until there is no difference between them and the unbeliever. If you choose this route, please look inside yourself first. Do you truly know where you stand with Christ? Is your faith strong enough to withstand trials?

Could you step into the CZ of someone else and still be strong in your faith? People don't care who you are, what you do, or what kind of car you drive. What they want to see in your life is compassion. Do you even care about them, or are they another strike in your count of Jesus converts?

I challenge you: Step out of your CZ. People won't listen to the Gospel until they know how much you care about them. Once they realize that YOU are genuine, go ahead, invite them to church, Bible study, whatever. Maybe they'll say "Yes."