Relational elements of life are a cherished blessing to just about everyone I know although it may interest you to realize\u00a0that it plays out a little differently in some cultures.\u00a0 Take the case study we encountered among an unreached people group who view life a little differently than we do.<\/p>\n
In western civilization our first meeting of a new acquaintance is wrapped up in a hearty handshake, then introducing ourselves and telling the other person a variety of things about our life.\u00a0 It may include where we live, what we do, and the things we like or dislike.\u00a0 For the most part it appears we are wrapped up in ourselves and in how we spend our time and resources.\u00a0 \u2018Where we live\u2019 may speak to another about the prestige of our heritage.\u00a0 \u2026And \u2018what we do\u2019 may speak of our educational achievement and abilities.\u00a0 Yep, it\u2019s all about us.<\/p>\n
There are people in the world, as in our case study, who have a bit different perspective on life.\u00a0 Upon the first meeting of one another they are not drawn into the trap of who they are, where they live, or what they do.\u00a0 No, their focus is relational and spiritual, though not in terms of what we would consider relational or spiritual.<\/p>\n
Let me explain:<\/p>\n
The relational aspect has more to do with who is related to whom.\u00a0 You see, if two individuals are connected by kinship, no matter how close or distant, it gives them the distinction of participating as providers in buying brides or coming alongside one another as allies in battle.\u00a0 That\u2019s a bit different than what you and I think of when we consider relationships, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
The spiritual side of acquaintance is not the things you and I would consider in terms of soul-oneness through the commonality of salvation in Christ, but for such tribesmen the focus is upon the idea of how one manipulates the spirits of dead ancestors.\u00a0 One may perceive the other has found the secret to placating spirits for sake of embracing freedom from the bondage of fear.\u00a0 Most times, however, the new acquaintances come to learn that neither have the answer.<\/p>\n
New Tribes missionaries get the blessed privilege of encountering such ones with vastly differing worldviews.\u00a0 It takes skilled knowledge and understanding to decipher the differences between their thinking and ours.\u00a0 While it necessitates wrapping our head around their way of thinking, we never want to come across as the know-it-all to \u2018fix\u2019 them, but rather, embracing an understanding of their worldview so that we can effectively bring them a biblical worldview that dispels the darkness of deception from a non-biblical worldview.<\/p>\n
Consider this: \u00a0We have God\u2019s Word and the knowledge of Christ to guide and direct our steps.\u00a0 \u2026But what about those outside the hearing of the gospel?\u00a0 Is their eternal destiny their fate??\u00a0 \u2026Or could it be their fate has become our failure to follow Jesus in making disciples among the nations?<\/p>\n
The apostle Paul said it was his heart’s desire and prayer to God that they may be saved.\u00a0 We can do something to change this, as Paul later states \u201cHow then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?\u00a0 And how are they to believe in him\u00a0of whom they have never heard? \u00a0And how are they to hear\u00a0without someone preaching?\u00a0 \u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And how are they to preach unless they are sent?\u201d<\/p>\n Our prayer as we mentor potential missionary candidates and partner with would-be sending churches is, “Lord, who ya\u2019 gonna\u2019 call?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Relational elements of life are a cherished blessing to just about everyone I know although it may interest you to realize\u00a0that it plays out a little differently in some cultures.\u00a0 Take the case study we encountered among an unreached people group who view life a little differently than we do. In western civilization our first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":276,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[448,637],"class_list":{"0":"post-160","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-ethnos360","8":"tag-new-tribes-mission","9":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/276"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/david-hilt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}