In the Every One His Witness Program, we learned how easy for us to talk about things we are passionate about – sports, current events, weather, politics, AND OURSELVES, but more difficult to talk with others about Christ. So how can we transition from these every day topics to the most important topic in the world – Jesus Christ and His call upon our lives?
Let’s learn from Jesus, and how he started with every day topics and used parables about them to teach eternal lessons. A parable is a story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, such as the parable of the sower. Once we introduce spiritual matters into a conversation, we can see if that person is open to learning more, or would rather change the subject.
Some examples:
“Did you see the Razorbacks beat #1 Auburn in basketball last night?”
RESPONSE: Yes, I did; it was a great game. It makes me think of a large playing field on which we are all players in the game of life, on Jesus’ team. But the prize is not a basketball score, but souls snatched from the Lake of Fire.
“I had a great weekend; we went up on the Little Red (River) and the rainbows (rainbow trout) were plentiful.”
RESPONSE: That’s terrific. It is a beautiful river in a beautiful part of the state. It reminds me of Peter, James, and John, all fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus called them to be fishers of men. They did, and after being empowered by Christ and the Holy Spirit, they plus nine other apostles went out and changed the world.
“We were iced in last week; I really prefer the spring weather.”
RESPONSE: So do I. Spring time reminds me of heaven, where the weather is always perfect, and everything is always fresh and full of life.
So the next time we are talking with someone, let’s see how we can move that conversation on to eternal matters. It might save their (eternal) life.
To God be the glory
Board of Evangelism