January 08, 2009
Come See...
For many of us another person’s recommendation is a huge selling point. If someone tells us they’ve read a good book, eaten at a fabulous restaurant, or have seen a great movie, we may consider their endorsement as good enough for us to give it a try. Occasionally such a stamp of approval works with Christianity. The Samaritan woman at the well gave Jesus a five star rating by simply saying, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” I don’t know about you, but I can’t even get some of my immediate family members to give the Lord an audience, much less a whole community. (John 4:29)
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Gail;
-----What makes the selling point huge is the perceived character of the person giving it. I would certainly demand many evidences regarding a selling point made by Barney Frank, Bill Clinton, or Charles Taze Russell, but I would more readily adhere to a selling point made by Ronald Reagan, Clarence Thomas, or C. S. Lewis. Jesus did not present many philosophical evidences in support of the reasoning He gave the women at the well. He simply showed her a bit of who He was by telling her a bit of who she was. That is what closed the deal for her, for that is the evidence she presented to the community.
-----I highly suspect that our characters have a lot to do with what we can sell to others without much accompanying philosophical evidence. Do we engage them personally from their perspective? Not that their perspective should be accepted. It simply needs recognized. From the recognition, it needs properly handled. Jesus did not berate the woman for having had five husbands and for living with a man not her husband. He just stated the fact. Indeed, Jesus engaged her perspective to get the conversation started. He, a Jew, asked her, a Samaritan, for a drink. She knew that wasn’t normal, and by His disregard for such Jewish trivia, she was a step closer to buying what He was selling.
-----So we all hear how important our Christian witness is. I spoke to a lady yesterday who revealed that her husband strongly rejects Christianity because his father was rigidly judgmental and given to the church. To his father, I am sure God’s laws were supreme, and that is good. But the son’s ground was too unholy for the father to even approach. So there would be no meeting on it. Therefore, there was no meeting. In fact there came rejection. Humility and mercy were not an exhibited part of the father’s character. They are more real than rigid doctrine. “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” (Math 9:13) I propose that the true Christian character is very merciful, yet very truthful. And I propose that is very attractive to those who need to buy.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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