Speachless- May 7, 2011
June 5, 2011
Dear Sam,
I have a coworker that I usually eat lunch with. She knows that I am a Christian and is always asking me questions about Jesus and the Bible. I try to answer her questions well, but I end up either sounding like I don't know what I'm talking about or getting into an argument with her. I want to talk about these things to try to tell her about Jesus' love, but I can see that I'm failing. What do I do?
-Speechless-
Dear Speechless,
First you need to recognize that Jesus faced the same kind of situation. You remember that he was always being tested and mocked by his detractors. But he didn't take the bait. And that's what you are being taught. Discernment means having the insight to perceive the difference between what is real and what is false. We fail in many areas of life when we take things at face value instead of at heart value. Relationships often fail because one of the partners is not as invested as the other. Our attempts to change a bad habit fail because our desires are only on the surface and not deep enough to sustain us when the going gets tough. Discernment always begins with self-knowledge. Your desire to tell people about the love of Jesus may be more about you than about them. If she feels that you are just showing off, she may not be able to get past you to your loving God. Or it may be that she enjoys watching you stammer. When Jesus realized that questioners were not really open to what he had to say, he often asked a question of them. You could ask your friend to be more specific about what in her life is prompting the question. Tell her that you want to be responsible about your answer and you need a context in which to frame your response. You will have to be very self-controlled and not jump into babbling for the sake of saying something. Require something serious of her, and require the same of yourself. This will at least clarify where she is at. Maybe it will help her to sort out some personal issues, maybe not. Jesus desires to make you smart in relationships so that you will not fail when it is time to witness to his love.
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