Insulated
I want to personally thank the man who came up with the idea of wearing neoprene waders. Each year I go with my father and some friends to northern New Mexico and fly fish the San Juan River, which is famous for a high concentration of extremely intelligent and large trophy trout. The setting is beautiful. The river careens peacefully through a small canyon with towering walls naturally creating a cool breeze that refreshes the soul of even the weariest man. There is time for reflection, for quiet, but chiefly the time is for fishing. Serious fishing. This river, however, can not be properly fished from the bank. To catch these incredibly seasoned and fearless fish, one must go out into the river, navigate over and around slippery moss covered rock and wade in waist-deep water.
This is why I love neoprene. For it seems every year there comes a point in the trip where one of us will accidently slip while wading and fall into the water. Last year on the last day of the trip was my turn.. Nothing can prepare you for the shock that comes as 40 degree temps flood your body and cause you to glaciate from the inside out. Thankfully, in ten years, this has only happened to me twice. Usually, I can stand warm and comfortable in this water for hours and not feel a thing. This comes from the technology of the waders. They are designed to allow you to be in the water yet not feel the effects of it. They are made to keep you warm on the inside even though it is freezing on the outside.
One Sunday morning when I was 16, my mentor was preaching a sermon out of Romans Chapter 12. It’s a slam dunk chapter of the bible for preachers, with almost all of the twenty one verses having a nugget of truth that can be excavated, studied and elaborated on. On this particular Sunday he was exploring the most famous of verses in this passage.
“Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 NIV
After reading the text he shut his bible and said, “This is what I want you to remember today if nothing else. That as disciples of Christ in this world we are called to be insulated, not isolated.”
Insulated, not isolated. Although those two words have a similar cadence to them, they are quite different. Both are recognizing the pressure and pull of the culture around them, but their response to these elements are contrasting.
Isolation is a death blow for the church. To operate in away that fully acknowledges the world, but completely removes oneself from it defeats the entire purpose of the gospel. So many look at the call of James to be unspotted from the world and confuse it with being invisible. The logic behind it is to stay so far away from others who have different morals, lifestyles and beliefs that there is no penetration of worldly temptation into good, Godly values. On paper it sounds like a good plan, but is this any different than living on a private island with only those who share your views of faith? Not only does this create an inability for the message of the cross to be shared, but it inadvertently cultivates a soft underbelly of one’s faith that is never challenged, tested or proved. An isolated mindset for the Christian breeds arrogance and it feeds the mentality of self serving preservation. Imagine if the apostles thought this way after Jesus had left? The gospel would have come to a crashing halt in a Jerusalem upper room. Instead, as Christ implored, the message was to be shared with all of the earth.
Insulation looks quite different. To be insulated means to stand right in the midst of adversity and be unmoved. It means to be able to make an impact where you are no matter what is around you. The purpose of the waders is for me to be able to go into the water and not be overcome by the frigid temperatures. As I stand in the midst of the river, unaffected by the cold, the water’s flow and trajectory is changed by my ability to stand firm. The believer that imparts the concept of insulation doesn’t look down on others, they don’t force their will and beliefs in a manipulative way. Instead, they stand firm and make an impact in the midst of others. An insulated person relishes the potential of a day where they can be a bright light, an agent of joy and love. Integrity is the key to an insulated believer, one who is the same day in and day out, no matter the circumstances. Being insulated in today’s world requires a relationship with God’s word in order to prevent private islander’s small mindset of quarantine.
As you ponder this I’d like to leave you with Romans 12:2 MSG.
“Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture, that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.”
Let this be our prayer today. Stay insulated, my friends.
