The Necessity of Common Ground

Do you believe in Jesus?

What does that even mean, really? What does it mean to "believe in" Jesus, as opposed to saying you "believe in" Benjamin Franklin?

Well, let's start with this... Do you believe that Jesus existed?

I sure hope you do, as it is a historically ignorant position not to. H.G. Wells once said, "I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history."

So if you believe that Jesus existed, do you believe that the record we have in the Gospels to be an accurate representation of who Jesus was, what He did, and what He taught?

I must here confess, with no small amount of regret, that I do not have very much education in the field of Biblical textual criticism. I know a few things about the sources of the Gospels, the dating of their writings, and the process by which the four that are now seen as canonical became "canonical." But I'll admit... I don't know as much about that field as I would like.

But even within my confessed ignorance of the mechanics of the construction of the text we now recognize as the Holy Bible, I do know that the text itself makes claims on more than one occasion to be the incomplete work of men trying to attest to something they believed, and it takes a leap of faith to trust them or not.

So if you, like me, do believe that Jesus existed, and you do believe the Gospels to be an accurate record of His life, nature, and ministry, do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe in His message? When He says, in John 14:6-7, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him," do you believe Him?

How about God? Do you believe in God? Belief in Jesus as who He claimed to be is somewhat predicated upon a belief in God. It's hard to believe in the Son of God if you don't believe in the God that had the Son in the first place.

I am pretty confident in the idea that, at the very least, the majority of you reading this are all believers in God, Jesus, and the authenticity of the Bible. And I'll readily grant that even within that subset of faith, not all of us are in the same place. Some of you are new to this, some of you have been following Christ steadily for years, and I would imagine that some of you - like me - have been going to church since the Sunday after you were born but maybe haven't really seen just how incredible this Christian life can be until more recently.

But not everybody is there.

Back on the posts Seeing the Love of the New Testament In the Wrath of the Old Testament, Part II from last month and How Do You Not Get This? from last week, there was a (rather lengthy) comment exchange that - to put it politely - was a prime example of two ideologies that simply do not match up trying to engage in a discussion and producing only futility and frustration.

Look - I'm a Christian. I'm kinda operating under the assumption that even a brief reading of my stuff would show that to be true. As a Christian, then, there are certain things I believe. For starters, that there is a God, that Jesus Christ is His resurrected Son, and that the Bible is His written message for us down here in this world, this life. Believing that, then, there are things that I see as truths about the very fabric of reality which are inextricably linked to those beliefs.

For instance - the nature of morality is, in my view, completely Divine. That man has attempted to "reason" out morality apart from God is undeniable, yes, but I believe that a solely human standard of morality is woefully incomplete.

So, fellow believers... How do we engage belief systems that are radically different from our own? Especially when the assumptions about the nature of reality itself are completely different? And how do we do it in such a way that we actually accomplish something, instead of just beating our heads against the wall, arguing with someone who might as well believe the answer is "red" where we believe it to be "7"?

Well, apparently, I don't have the faintest idea.

The whole issue here is with the tiny little concept of faith. It is faith in the unseen God that separates the wheat from the chaff. Is there any faith in the Bible without a faith in the God of the Bible? That there can be a faith in God without believing the Bible is undeniable, but would anyone hold the Bible to be worthwhile and reject its presentation of God?

So, then, how can we expect the Bible to be a compelling text for someone who doesn't believe in it or in the God it portrays, or even in any version of God at all?

To an atheist, the Bible presents every bit as much truth about the universe as the latest issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.

So the Bible's out, right?

Well... again... I have no clue.

I've had a couple of conversations about this lately that have really had me thinking. The first centered around the idea that, even if the person you're talking to doesn't actually believe in the Bible, you can still at least let them know that the Bible is your personal source for inspiration, wisdom, encouragement, moral guidance, etc..., and allow your actions and words to serve as a proof for the Bible's validity. If it makes you a better person, then it is at least possible that it can serve to make someone else a better person, which may then very well lead to an investigation of the scriptures in that person's life, and from there, the search for holiness can begin.

The second conversation was not as much centered on using the Bible, but instead, on the actions inspired by the Bible. I was talking with a friend who was a missionary in Ghana for some time, and she told me that a lot of the conversions came from the Christians working at the health clinic, putting their faith into practice by caring for the sick. This connective, human, tangible expression of faith led to conversions from Muslims in the area who were experiencing the power of the Gospel as it led others to make a very concrete impact on their lives. In this same conversation, I also learned of a man who expressed his faith through actions as well - changing someone's flat tire, helping carry groceries, feeding the homeless, etc... When the people he helped began to thank him, he would simply give them a business card - with no contact information on it - that said (and I'm paraphrasing this, I don't quite remember it wholly) "Whatever good deed has just been done for you was done because of Jesus Christ."

Does that work?

In case you haven't picked up on the trend here... I just don't know.

I'm gonna 'fess up to a pretty strong bias here... I'm pretty useless when it comes to the emotional "soft sell" of Christianity. When I worked at Heritage Place last summer, I tried very hard to avoid the over-used youth ministry model of stirring up the kids' emotions to the point that they cried at my devotionals. I hated that stuff when I was their age, and I still hate it now. Understand me, though - I'm not saying that there's no room for emotionality in Christianity. I'm just saying that emotions change. Emotions are fleeting. If your entire evangelistic approach is centered around making someone cry, making someone feel God, then they're going to be absolutely zeroed-in and strictly focused on God... until they're distracted by just about anything.

So manipulating emotions... well, it seems pretty shallow to me. Again, this is just me, and I'm not saying that the emotional tactics don't make some HUGE differences in people's lives.

But at the same time, it seems to me that if you strictly appeal to someone's emotions, they're only going to be with you until their emotions change, which (as I'm sure you ALL understand) is a completely unpredictable thing. I experience emotions that have absolutely no trigger sometimes. I'll find myself in the middle of a very stern and serious discussion about some really deep, important stuff... but can't stop thinking of jokes only a 3rd grader would love. Or at least admit to loving.

But if you appeal to someone's mind, if you appeal to their understanding... Well, that's where I think you can get 'em hooked.

But again... I don't really know a whole lot.

One thing I do know, however, is this...

You're not going to reach everyone, and that's OK.

As Christians, we have a duty to God and to our fellow man to spread the message of Christ throughout the world to the best of our abilities - and since we're backed by God, our abilities are pretty impressive!

But there are some people out there who you just can't reach. There are some folks who, despite your best efforts, you just won't be able to find any common ground with.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

- Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Look, folks... Even Jesus, Peter, and Paul didn't convert everyone. There are some folks out there who are never going to see what we see, hear what we hear, or believe what we believe.

Even though that absolutely breaks my heart, it is still the truth.

And you know what else? As hard as it may be to believe, there are going to be some folks who are just outright hostile towards you, simply because you wear the label of Christian. There are people who are going to reject not only what you believe, but you altogether, because you believe what you believe.

If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.

- Luke 9:5

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

- Matthew 7:6

How do people get so worked up, railing against something that is centered around pure love? What is so bad about that? What is it that inspires so much bile and hatred? Beats me! I just know it's out there.

But here's another truth to take some comfort in...

Just because you aren't the one who can reach someone doesn't mean they can't be reached at all. God didn't create us all with the same strengths or the same vision or the same understanding. We are all chasing after the same truth, yes, and we all believe in the same unifying things, but we are coming from very different places to reach that one Truth, so our views will always be a little different until we are restored in perfect unity.

So whereas the conversations that I have with someone might not get anywhere... Maybe you'll do better. And maybe I've got something that you've never seen that I can show someone else. This is why it's so very important that we are ALL working towards sharing Christ's message - by sharing Christ's love - with everyone we come in contact with.

We've got to put it out there like it's the only thing that matters, since - guess what! - it is the only thing that matters.

So what have you found to be helpful? Where can we go with this? What can we do to reach people who aren't even standing within our concept of reality? Show them God by showing them love... They may not directly see God, but they'll definitely see love. Maybe that can lead to a conversation. Maybe that can lead to a teaching moment. Maybe that can lead to a real connection of your faith into their lives, and from there... Who knows what God will do?

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

- I Corinthians 3:6-9

So get out there, fling those seeds, and let me know how it goes for you. I'll be sure to do the same.

I pray that God blesses our hearts, that we may show His love to His creation.

I pray that God blesses our minds, that we may understand the pain in the world and see how best to be a comfort.

I pray that God blesses our words, that we may speak the truth in grace and love.

I pray that God blesses our actions, that we may be His Hands and Feet and carry out His Will.

In Christ's name, Amen.