I was talking to a friend this morning. I won't name any names, but I will say that "Jose Puente es muy caliente" does rhyme rather well. Anyway, this friend said something that really stood out that I liked. He made reference to being willing to sit down and listen to someone. "I don't care if you're atheist, or gay, or whatever. I will sit down with you and listen. I am willing to hear your perspective. I want to know where you're coming from." I'm using quote marks, but these are memories of a conversation a few hours ago now, so they're not as eloquent as my friend first quoted. He said, "I wasn't willing to do that 10, 20 years ago, but I am now." That really says a lot. So many people want to demonize others and put them in a box and not really listen to them.
Or, another mistake made often is: Christians feel like this is someone's last chance and they've got to cram all the answers down this person's throat. They have this messiah complex of sorts and/or they've been trained to believe that each personal encounter is a chance to harvest a soul and so they won't ever just listen, period. If they do listen at all (and any amount of listening is good), they make sure to answer the specific deception or false idea with an argumentative and (sometimes) pat answer. This turns off the listener.
The Christian thinks that listening and hearing someone out is tantamount to accepting their lifestyle or philosophy. That's ridiculous. We needn't be worried about the "scandal" of associating with someone that doesn't quite have their worldview orbiting around Jesus the Christ. Being someone that shows love, acceptance and forgiveness does not have to be equated with endorsing the lifestyle of those he or she accepts. Does it?
I think us evangelical Christians were duped into believing this giant perspective that we are living in the End Times and the Rapture is just around the corner and everything is urgent. Now, I don't want to be the guy caught saying, "Lord, Lord..." or "Where is His return?" But I have been around long enough to get a perspective that allows me to appreciate the long-term. Some people come to God when they hit rock bottom. Those are dramatic and most often wonderful stories. Some people warm up to the idea and take awhile to turn to the Lord. Some people do have an "appointment with destiny" and accept Christ after being evangelized by someone and then they later die that night in a car accident with a truck. But why are those the only stories we seem to remember? Someone drilled into our heads that everyone we see that is "obviously lost" needs to come to Jesus now or else they might begin their eternal damnation in a moment. Because I've had that drilled into me, I can still appreciate the need to be urgent. I pray that I stay sensitive to the Spirit of God and know and obey when I'm in a situation where God is leading me that way. I also have seen the late 70s come and go and -- even though there was many a crisis in the Middle East -- the expected rapture and Second Coming did not take place. I'm glad I didn't sell my car and house and move out to the country to wait. I'd be rained on, cold, and starved by now. I like the idea that there is a purpose for our being here.
If God is true and if He is amazingly good and willing to offer an abundance of fulfilling life, then it must be true that we can be agents of that kind of goodness if we just try. Maybe it all boils down to knowing God, hanging out with Him (praying) and just doing what He says to do. That's what Jesus said He was doing and that's kind of what He instructed His followers to do. So, maybe if we talk to God and trust that He'll "talk" to us by guiding our thoughts, then maybe we'll be inspired to love others and think of others as more important than ourselves ... and in time make this a better place -- simply because we (and in us, Him) are here.
I was talking to another friend later today. I won't name any names, but he was once basically accosted by Larry Norman, who asked him, "Why do you call yourself 'The Doctor' if you're not a real doctor?" Anyway, I told my friend about how the office was shaking and vibrating with a tremendous sound. Kind of like the sound of many horses rushing to battle. When I opened the front door I saw what looked like giant locusts in the sky, with what looked like tails of scorpions and long, long hair. These helicopters were very close to the ground. There were ten of them in formation flying South. I had no shirt on at the time (because I spilled some coffee on my white "SCENESTER" shirt and didn't want it to stain, so I cleaned it with water and had it drying outside on the porch. The pilots and passengers in the helicopter must've looked at me with disgust. I bet they were tempted to shoot me. My friend said, "Texas is under attack."
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at May 8, 2008 02:56 PM