“I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.” 2 Corinthians 9:22b
Even though I pretty much frequent the same places, same stores, same coffee shops, etc. (gosh, I really need to mix it up!) any given day I can run into all different sorts of people – people with different personalities, different moods, different quirks, different viewpoints, etc. In all honesty, it can sometimes be a challenge to “find common ground with everyone”. While I know I won’t always be able to connect on a deep level with everyone I encounter, what I want to make sure I don’t do is build a barrier that prevents something incredible from happening. I’ve come to recognize this barrier as indifference, or avoidance and I have to admit, it typically happens when I stop seeing challenging or uncomfortable situations as occasions to be used by God. Even when people can be a flat out trip – if I find myself pulling away from or avoiding certain people, or certain situations (other than for legitimate safety reasons) then I do a quick heart check to make sure I’m not preventing a great opportunity for God to stretch me and use me.
Finding common ground with everyone doesn’t mean that we have to become people pleasers, or that we take on multiple personalities, and start acting like everyone around us. That’s not authentic. Finding common ground is more about not being reactive to what we might immediately see in others, but instead seeing the potential others can have in Christ. It’s about not allowing our differences to become walls of indifference between us and other people. It’s about extending grace towards others instead of immediately trying to change them. We remain secure and confident in who we are in Christ, and in the message of the gospel, but we learn to yield that to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and prompting. We take on the posture of an open heart and an open hand to people all around us, thus allowing God to flow in and through us. If we view these opportunities through the right filter, then what can be awkward or uncomfortable at first can turn into a completely unexpected God appointment/opportunity.
LGR
