A Few Thoughts about Reaching Out to Others

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 A Few Thoughts about Reaching Out to Others

 

All of us have relatives or friends who do not accept Christianity or the Scriptures.  We have prayed and tried to convince them.  There are a couple of verses that have been very helpful to me in this process of seeing others come to faith.  Of course we know as the Scriptures teach that none can come apart from the Holy Spirit giving them a new heart.  ( The theological term for that is regeneration which precedes faith)  

 

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."  2 Timothy 2: 24

Peter also talks about this " But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: " I Peter 3:15

 

This reminds me of the JW faith or as we know them Jehovah's Witnesses.  Usually I just try and not talk to them, but the other day I said to myself, " Let me try another approach".  I had them sit outside the house on the porch chairs, and I gave them some bottles of water as it was a hot day.  Then I tried to listen and not interrupt them too much.  Of course I told them I had three years of Greek in seminary, but they were not swayed.  As they left we parted amicably .  I think I got more across by being open to what they had to say.  Of course I was polite , but we had a lot of agreement as I found.  They accept the OT more than the new for some reason.  That was an eye-opener for me. Of course they are confused about the person of the God-Man , Jesus Christ who is divine and human.  

 

Do we have a need to listen to others stories before we try and convince them they are in error ?  I believe we should re-look how we engage others. We should as some have said create a friendly space where others feel free to share their own stories.  Too often we run ahead of what they need at that moment.  

 

God has a plan , but we can be barriers instead of being conduits to the message of eternal life and belief in Jesus Christ.

I am wondering if we should re-look our approach to those who are without faith.  Some have need of a listening ear first.  I am going to try this with my family as well.  As I grow older I realize I don't have all the answers.  We know God does, and we should let Him guide us in discusing the things of God with our friends and neighbors.

 

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