I Live Between Worlds

I live between worlds – between faiths, and cultures, and worldviews. And now I find myself ‘fitting in” less and less.

     I am a Jew who follows a rabbi – Jesus. I don’t “just” follow him; I have given my total allegiance, reputation, life, eternity to him.

     In the Western World people who follow Jesus are called “Christians” and are often Gentiles. I am not a Gentile, but I am a Christian.

     I spend time with people from Muslim backgrounds and people who reach out to Muslims; in every encounter I must weigh whether it is wise to tell the person I am Jewish. For some it is a great offense to be in the presence of a Jew, for a handful they are moved deeply by meeting a Jew for the first time and sensing some kind of kinship relationship.

     I spend time with people from Jewish backgrounds; to them I am an insider, one of their own … until they find out who I follow. Then they want to know when I stopped being Jewish and started being Christian.

     Symbols often mark a person’s identity. A yarmulke says you are a Jew, a Bedouin head dress that you are a Muslim. Neither of them indentifies whether you follow Jesus Christ or not. I enjoy wearing a variety of head coverings. They help me live between worlds I suppose.