My Operafaith and life
Thursday, February 2, 2006 9:16:42 AM
Tonight at small group we talked about being real with non-Christians. Relating to them without the intent of converting them, simply loving them as Jesus would, and allowing your friendship/relationship with them to draw them to Jesus instead of arguing them further away from God. This takes the pressure off of you and leaves the heart work to God. Just plant the seed. It is their choice. While I agree with this, I have to say that I haven't encountered a whole lot of non-Christians who I have been friends with recently. Here is why:
My life and my faith are intertwined. I can't easily separate the two. A large part of who I am is because of my faith and what God has done in my life. My personality and character reflect (I hope) the presence of God in my life. This is where it is hard for me to relate to non-Christians. It just is. Because I don't drink, go to parties, and have chosen sexual purity. There are 3 reasons why I can't relate to non-Christians. Oh yeah, and throw in the part where I grew up in ministry and plan to work in the church and in ministry the rest of my life. Did I mention that 94% of the music I listen to is Christian or Worship Music. The other 6% includes: 1% country, 1%celine dion, 2%classical, 1%pop/top40. weird, i know. and the occasional guitar and heavy metal my sister makes me listen to. only the pure stuff, she likes scorpion, joe satriani...etc. actually fun to listen to. ok that was quite a tangent.
I am the kind of person who wants to know more than just the fluffy stuff. As much as I appreciate and love movies, I'd rather talk about personal stuff, the stuff that never gets talked about because we are so afraid of letting our real selves show. When I get with some of my closest friends I will tell them the kind of stuff that I write in my journal, the stuff that matters, the stuff i've been thinking about, worried about. What I am seeking God about, what I need to seek God about, and how I need to spend more time with God. That to me is real.
Here is where you give me your feedback: SO, what I'd like to ask you is how do you get to know a non-Christian and be able to peal away layers and get to their core, to their real self, to their soul, their deepest desires and needs. Is that even possible? Oh and any suggestions on how I can relate to others withOUT the Church language, cliche's and Bible verses, please send my way. (p.s. i hate the word 'Christianese', which is why i didn't use it in the previous sentence, its disgusting, being a Christian is not like joining a club and having code language. gag.)
My life and my faith are intertwined. I can't easily separate the two. A large part of who I am is because of my faith and what God has done in my life. My personality and character reflect (I hope) the presence of God in my life. This is where it is hard for me to relate to non-Christians. It just is. Because I don't drink, go to parties, and have chosen sexual purity. There are 3 reasons why I can't relate to non-Christians. Oh yeah, and throw in the part where I grew up in ministry and plan to work in the church and in ministry the rest of my life. Did I mention that 94% of the music I listen to is Christian or Worship Music. The other 6% includes: 1% country, 1%celine dion, 2%classical, 1%pop/top40. weird, i know. and the occasional guitar and heavy metal my sister makes me listen to. only the pure stuff, she likes scorpion, joe satriani...etc. actually fun to listen to. ok that was quite a tangent.
I am the kind of person who wants to know more than just the fluffy stuff. As much as I appreciate and love movies, I'd rather talk about personal stuff, the stuff that never gets talked about because we are so afraid of letting our real selves show. When I get with some of my closest friends I will tell them the kind of stuff that I write in my journal, the stuff that matters, the stuff i've been thinking about, worried about. What I am seeking God about, what I need to seek God about, and how I need to spend more time with God. That to me is real.
Here is where you give me your feedback: SO, what I'd like to ask you is how do you get to know a non-Christian and be able to peal away layers and get to their core, to their real self, to their soul, their deepest desires and needs. Is that even possible? Oh and any suggestions on how I can relate to others withOUT the Church language, cliche's and Bible verses, please send my way. (p.s. i hate the word 'Christianese', which is why i didn't use it in the previous sentence, its disgusting, being a Christian is not like joining a club and having code language. gag.)
