I have Friend A and Friend B. To my knowlege they don't know the Lord. Today, I got to share a little bit with them about faith. Isn't funny how you can ask the Lord for this opportunity, yet it never comes how you hope/think it will?
They started out asking me what a Muslim was. Then a Hindu. Then what the difference was between all the religions (Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc.) I actually got to explain to them that Jesus was God's Son by explaining the basics of Islam (and how they miss the point of it all)... go figure.
Friend A then starts in on the drinking question: "How come Catholics get to drink and have a good time and Baptists don't? I'm just gonna go be a Catholic!"
Friend B (not a believer, mind you) points out the the Bible doesn't say drinking is wrong, but does say getting drunk is.
Friend A then starts in with the hypocrite statements: "My brother doesn't go to church because he says everyone there is a hypocrite and he doesn't want to become one."
Friend B shares that she doesn't think you have to go to church to go to Heaven.
What am I supposed to say to these things? I'm faced with a very difficult problem at this point. On the one hand they know that I'm a believer and they are looking to me for answers.
The problem is they are expecting typical answers. "Drinking is a sin." "To be a Christian you have to go to church." "I go to church and I'm not a hypocrite."
How do I share with these friends that I don't believe having a drink is wrong but getting drunk is; that I don't believe you necessarily have to go to church to be a Christian but if you really are committed you'll want to find community with other believers; that it saddens me how much "church" has become a detriment (excuse?) to the point of it all---Jesus.
What do I say to typical questions from non-believers looking for typical answers from a believer? And who is setting the standards here? Why are non-believer's image of Christians so twisted? Who gives off this image? Or am I the one that's in the wrong?
How many of you out there feel like sometimes your back is against the wall? You get these questions from non-believers and you have two options:
A.) Spew out the Christian jargon that non-believers have been hearing for years, even though maybe you youself as a Christian don't buy into it anymore.
B.) Answer truthfully, and risk them being confused by answers that go against their warped concept of what a Christian really is.
1 comment:
good thoughts Emily...what works for me is just telling them MY story. If you share with them what YOUR relationship with God looks like, they can't argue with it, because it is YOUR experience and no one elses. You don't have to answer for anyone elses behavior...but for some reason we feel like we do.
Most of the time when these kind of opportunities happen to me, I'm speaking with someone who doesn't even speak English that well! That's an added complication!
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