Part 5 - What then shall we say?

If one of the major parts of our translation of Christ and faith to a world that doesn't understand is owning it ourselves, what do we do when we don't own it? More precisely, if I have to wait until I have a perfect (or even nearly perfect) practical understanding of grace or salvation or hearing from God or meditation before I say anything about it, then when will any of us ever say anything at all? Partner that question with the reality that we have been commissioned by Christ to go make disciples, and that Paul implies that people can't become disciples unless they hear the truth and we potentially have a real pickle.

So what then shall we say?

I think we'll all be better off if we START by saying that we don't have half the stuff figured out that we think we do. Our first conversation could start with the phrase, "I'm not an expert, but here's what's happened to me..." and then we're sharing what we do know for certain... our experiences, our stories, the hope that we've found in real life situations. When our discussions begin with our stories, at that point we become experts. And not just experts, but experts in the things that really matter. I don't believe anyone is truly converted by arguments. You may change their mind for a short while, but in the long run you have failed to capture their hearts. Jesus didn't woo Peter, Andrew, James, or John with a theological construct for the Kingdom, He captured them with a vision of a bigger catch. You may not like my theology and we may not agree on one single bit of it, but when I sit down and share with you honestly what I've experienced of God in my life, you may not understand it and you may even have a different explanation for it, but it's my story. If you trust me and you believe I'm a person of integrity and sound mind, you will have to wrestle with my story and square it up with the person that you know me to be.

Again, it comes down to the person that I am. I don't expect someone's translation to be perfect. I expect it to be authentic, meaning that I expect it to be honest and born out of a true experience. I don't want to know what you believe about God, I want to know who God is to you. That's translation that can't be argued with. It can be rejected, but it can't be argued with.

So back again to the point of articulating or translating that which we're not experts in (sorry for the digression). I guess the answer is simple. Don't pretend to know more than you know. Offer what you understand, or what you've read, or what you've heard... but don't offer it dogmatically. Because whatever the words you're saying, when you speak without love... you're not translating Christ... no matter the words you say. Say what you know, share your convictions with conviction, challenge, stretch, and face up to people. But remember that the truest translation of what you believe doesn't come out of your mouth. It comes out of your life. Then, when all the discussion is done (or better yet, before it even gets started) go get coffee together or go get a meal together or go hit golf balls together. Before you talk about eternal security or open theism, talk about their family or their job or their bowling score. Then they won't be a dialectical adversary, they will be a real person with a real context and a real story. Then they'll feel the comfort to ask you what sanctification means... and you'll feel comfortable telling them that your'e not really sure. You'll feel comfortable because they're you're friend. And friends can be open and transparent and real with eachother. And that's the truest, realest, most faithful translation of the Godhead that I could imagine.

But don't stop speaking and cop it out to not understanding. Go get understanding. If you don't know God well enough to speak about Him, they by all means find someone who does and stick with them. Not so that you can pick up the lingo, but so that you can be in a place with someone who has experienced Him. When you touch Him and taste Him and feel Him all over you... then you will have something to speak of. When He has met you in your darkness... you will speak of the light with conviction. When He has mended your brokenness... then your discussion of wholeness has authority. But you won't need to wield that authority, because you'll understand both the brokenness and the wholeness... and your life will have found perfect and complete redemption. Then the Kingdom will be within you.

So here's to long conversations and faithful interpretations in life. May your life speak more loudly and more clearly than any words you ever utter. May your speech and your life point faithfully and truly at the One you hope to find. May your steps be your own, and may they tread new ground. May your risks pay off... if not always in success, in a great story eagerly shared. May the circle of ones you love be forever expanding. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you. Feel the Love