Yesterday we got to go to the Little Rock Zoo, and finish it off with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese with the little ones from church. We had a great time. I guess I'm steadily growing more and more like a preacher each day. You try to go to the zoo, and you keep finding things that make you reflect on theological aspects of what they're doing. I'm going to share a few of the pictures I took, and what they made me think about as I took them.
I'm fully aware that these critters are not rabbits. I don't honestly remember what they are, but as I saw them yesterday, darting in and out of their holes, it made me think. They only come out to greet each other, get some food, then rushing back into the safety of their holes.
I fully appreciate the effort people put into shielding and protecting their children from harmful influences. We don't want to loose them to the world. At the same time, I think there is a danger of us becoming what I call "Rabbit-Hole Christians". Many Christians live their lives a lot like these critters. You stay at home, and spend time with your family (which is a good thing). But the only time you're out in public much, it's rushing off to church, perhaps stopping to get some food, then you rush back home again, making sure not to get too close to the sinners out there. Along with this, your job might even be at a Christian school or institution, so you don't ever really have to interface with non-Christians at all, unless they're taking your fast food order or bagging your groceries. Rabbits only hang around other rabbits, and if there's a stranger, they run and hide.
Watching these things reminded me that just as much as I have an obligation to keep my walk and my family pure, I also have an obligation to reach others for Christ. It is impossible to reach lost people if I don't know any. I have not yet found the perfect balance of how to be in contact with the world, yet to maintain my strongest ties with fellow Christians. Christianity that takes no risks will produce no fruit. May God help us to be aware of the opportunities around us, to help us shine like stars who hold out the light of truth, not as ones who would hide it under a bushel, or behind a door, as it were.
