I don't know anything
about this author, but I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment of Jesus:
One of the things that struck me profoundly in
my reading of the accounts of the life of Jesus is that he provoked a strong
reaction in everyone who met him. I cannot think of a single individual who
encountered Jesus personally and didn't show a strong reaction. Sometimes
people reacted positively, at other times their reaction was very negative. But
he always provoked a strong reaction.[1]
In preparing for a
Sunday message I was considering the same thing. Jesus always moved people a reaction – a response.
A young man watching a dinner party by a
Pharisee, when asked by his parents, upon his arrival back home, "Who was
at the party?" would never answer, "Oh . . . and I think a man named
Jesus was there!" Never! Jesus always provoked a response.
·
To a
Jewish academic; a professor of religious studies: ““How
can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot
enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”” (John 3:4, NIV)
·
To a woman
of a race He was not supposed to talk to: “You are a
Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (John 4:9, NIV)
·
He heals a
man on the Sabbath. “Who is this fellow who told you
to pick it up and walk?”” (John 5:12, NIV)
Jesus always invokes a
reaction. He is never boring. Where am I going with this? In Paul's letter to Colossae he writes, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with
salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6, NIV). There is a heavily laden presumption in this
verse. The presumption is this: My conversation with unbelievers ought to
invoke a response – particularly a question.
That's troubling to me because it rarely does. Dr. Douglas Moo comments: "By putting it
this way, Paul assumes that unbelievers will be raising questions about the
faith of the Colossian Christians, questions that may be neutral or even,
perhaps, hostile."[4]
We are called to live questionable
lives!
Someone should be asking me, "Why are
you different;" or "Why do you have that hope?[5]" So here's the question that I find so
provoking and challenging: "Do I relate to unbelievers in such a way they
question me about my faith in Christ?"
If not, why not!
We are called to live questionable lives!
No comments:
Post a Comment