Looking for God s image in other people may fuel our curiosity and intrigue us, but only the cross will sustain the process of crossing cultural barriers. The moral of the story is an important one for those of us who want to follow Jesus and to take him into our world the follower of Jesus can get cross at cultural differences, or we can cross them. Go to the party I recently attended a wedding of a young couple whose pastor s remarks were carefully chosen, appropriate, and delivered well, but his impact that evening was diminished by one seemingly insignificant decision. He apparently decided his work was complete when the ceremony was finished and was therefore notably absent at the reception, an elegant and extravagant celebration set exquisitely at a local country club. In my view he made the classic error of thinking ministry happens at church but not at the party.
People solemnly watch the ceremony, but the party after the wedding is festive and relational.
Jesus understood this and seemed to spend considerable time at meals and parties hosted by pagans. You might say no because you are quite uncomfortable at pagan parties. You know bad things can happen there. When alcohol flows freely or drugs are involved, things can spin quickly out of control. The jokes, the language, the sexual innuendo it all adds up to an uncomfortable experience for somebody trying to live a transformed life.