1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (NIV)
I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
A few weeks ago my wife and I had a new and terrifying parenthood experience. Our son decided that his grandmother’s room fragrance smelled so good that he needed to taste it. Poison control told us that we needed to take our precious and curious son to the emergency room to be sure that he did not aspirate any of the liquid which could cause respiratory issues. Our time at the ER was (thankfully) short and uneventful for our son, but we had an experience there that each of us deeply appreciated.
At the ER there was a man working there whose attitude and demeanor were incredible. He was a calm and hopeful presence amidst the chaos of what was going on around him. He dealt with the stress of the ER beautifully. He didn’t mind spending time with patients who were less than friendly, he took time to make sure his coworkers had what they needed, and he volunteered for every seemingly awful job they had. He wasn’t a doctor, or a nurse. I asked him what his job at the hospital was and he told me this: “I am an old chewed up Lego. I finish one job, get broken down, and then move on to doing another job. It’s great!” I immidiately liked him. In between the chaotic rushes of the ER he would come and high five our son, encourage my wife and I, and make sure we were ok. I don’t know if he was aware that his joyfullness in this stress filled moment was what we anxious parents needed, or if that is just who he was, but I learned that night that I wanted to be a Lego. I wanted to be a person who would do whatever task was before me with joy. I learned that I wanted to face the stresses and struggles of daily life with a sense of joy and hope that was so infectious even the most anxious of people around my might take comfort.
I wonder if this is what the apostle Paul was like. In his letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul tells us that he became all things to all people so that he might help others to hear the good news of the gospel. He wanted people to share in the blessing of the knowledge that Jesus had come to the world to save us. He wanted people to know that there was hope, joy, peace, and goodness in this world. Paul was a Lego, and I want to be one too.