Listening to the Holy Spirit:
Reach for them, those who are about you. My words and ways are more. Your words to others are the pathway to understanding. Converse, that they may know a follower. Speak to them, that they may have a common place to walk with one of My own. If you do not speak to them, they will hear not My voice through you. I did not preach to all. It was in the exchange at leisure, over the table, and on foot – these were the times of brief connections. Simple conversations establish foundations that greater exchange will build, but you must speak that your voice is known to their mind and then their heart. Of the common discourse first, as the threat grows nil, then deeper as I prompt. Many may be the years until the heart is ready. Share life, that each gentle interaction a different plow silently turns up the hardened earth. Do not draw away from those who do not know My ways; as you draw near to them does the darkness flee.
John 4:7-9 – A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”
Luke 19:5 (ESV) – When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
Mark 2:16 (ESV) – When the…Pharisees saw Jesus…they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Birds of a feather, flock together. It’s a very accurate saying. We tend to feel most comfortable with people in which we have a lot in common. It’s generally natural and effortless to connect with those most like us. The opposite is true as well, it is very easy to avoid eye contact, or any contact, with those we feel are greatly different. This is especially true with religious differences.
Two of my favorite, generous and pleasant people that I love to visit when I go back to Colorado are a Buddhist couple I have known now for over 14 years. The wife still works in the company I owned, and worked there when I first bought it in 2008. Her and her husband are very different than me and my wife, in ethnicity, family orientation, and obviously in religion, but due to them reaching out to us so many years ago, there has been a wonderful friendship formed. I have learned much about the Buddhist faith, and they have learned much of what it means to be a Christian.
It taught me a very valuable lesson. As I said, it was them inviting us to dinner that got things started. They were not put off by our differences, and who knows where that friendship may bear fruit for the Kingdom in the end. We love that couple, as do our kids, and we pray that one day, maybe partially due to our conversations over the years, they will one day know the saving power of our Lord.
To many, including myself, reaching out to our coworkers, especially if they are a great deal different than us, can be intimidating. There are many people we pass by each day who God may want to influence through us, but we find it uncomfortable to introduce ourselves or connect with someone so different.
We are reminded today, that having that first simple interaction, taking the time to listen, or grabbing lunch together and talking about common things, can possibly pave the way for something greater down the line. Jesus took the time with almost anyone in His path. Let’s be intentional to be more like the Lord we follow. As different as they are, strike up a conversation. Who knows where God may take that small start down the road, as His Word works through you, today.
