3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
I like the image this presents. As faithful Christians, we should strive to proclaim Jesus Christ and the gospel boldly—on the “highest places of the city.” We are not as the “strange woman” who catches people in the night, luring them into her house of death with flattery and deceit. We stand in the daytime, in the heights, easily seen and unashamed.
However, we also remember that Jesus would not “lift up his voice in the street.” We do not cause calamity and rioting—that is another tactic of the enemy. We stand firm in the gospel of peace, providing a place of rest in Jesus for those who are emotionally and mentally tired, confused, ostracized, and beat down by a life of sin.
Come, sit down at our table. We will love you. We will lead you to Jesus. Come, eat of His bread and wine without money and without strings attached.
Leave the destructive ways of this world, and be refreshed in Jesus—the Creator, the Lamb of God that takes away our sins, The Prince of Peace, the Physician, the Word of God that can make all things new.
Though we are all imperfect Christians, we strive towards perfection with faith in Jesus, and we take the healing and spiritual gifts we receive and invest those in the broken people around us as they learn of Jesus and grow strong in Him.
As those we mentored grow in the faith, they too learn to stand strong and proclaim the gospel boldly, so that they can go out and support the wounded of the world just as their Christian brethren supported them.
This world is destructive and this world hates Jesus and those who follow Him, but we should do what we can to help people anyway and continue to preach the name of Jesus.
There are those of the Christian faith who give Jesus and Christians a bad name, and maybe we have too at one point or another. All we can do is continue to seek our own growth and understanding so that we as individuals can become better examples of Christianity and Jesus and lead people to Him, support our brethren as they gain their footing in the faith, and continue sharpening those who have the humility to know that there is always more to gain and the working of the Lord is most often done through the body of believers.
None is better than the other and all have something to share that will make us better. Those who want to do it all on their own will be limited in their growth, and the Lord will one day open their eyes to how their need for independence, control, and superiority hinders their growth and those who they deemed less than themselves will rise because they sought to work alongside the brethren rather than trying to be a lord over them.
Humility and honesty are important among the brethren, but sadly there will always be those who want to tear you down or shut you up. In these cases, walk away and pray for them. Learn what you must learn and trust in the Lord to use you for the wellbeing of those who can receive you.
Jesus has work to do in the body of Christ, and He will use all of us for His good purposes. Find what that purpose is, and don’t let anyone take that from you. Many will try, even the brethren. Even Jesus had to tell Peter to “get behind me Satan.” Sometimes the enemy gets the best of us and our brethren, but if we are doing the Lord’s will then nothing will prevent us.
An Important Aside
Do you have an inner accuser? I don’t mean true conviction, but fear of being lied about or misunderstood and misrepresented to others? If that inner voice of accusation takes the form of a brother or sister in Christ, maybe it’s time to walk away.
We also should evaluate ourselves to make sure that we are not a voice of accusation. We want to convict of sin, but not accuse. We want to build up our brethren in their service towards the Lord, not tear them down.
If we ever discover this of someone, we should walk away and not look back. If we discover this in ourselves, we walk away from that life and never look back.
If we are misled, then we trust in the Lord to correct our steps so that we grow in faithfulness to the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Alone 