"Sometimes it seems seminary degrees uniquely qualify a person to make a simple message confusing or complicated--anything but clear." This made me laugh because it can be so true! Nothing against seminary degrees or anything, but things can be made complicated if you throw out too much "knowledge" in a conversation with somebody. Seriously...think about it...who were the people Jesus talked to the most...the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor...they wouldn't understand a complex message, and, frankly, they wouldn't care. Jesus' message when he was "recruiting" his disciples was "Follow Me", you can't get much more basic than that and yet have pure truth as well!!
For me, I have never been someone who is very open about his faith. I understand that is a huge hindrance and something I need to work, and am working on. There is a fine balance between sharing your faith and living your faith. We are all called to share our faith and tell people about the beauty of Jesus Christ, as well as live in a manner worthy and reflective of Jesus...there needs to be both. I've gotten caught up in only living my faith (although I think it is a little more important than sharing your faith) and now feel far behind where I should be in sharing my faith with others. I need to...we all need to...get ourselves to a place where we are sensitive to God's calling at that moment. If we can gain the wisdom required to know when it is best to speak up or shut up.
When someone, like me, gets comfortable only living his life modeled after Christ (which is good) but doesn't share his/her faith people may never know you are a follower of Christ...maybe they'll just think of you as a "nice guy". On the flip-side, if all you do is share your faith, but are not living a life revolved around Christ, you will quickly be regarded as a "hypocrite".
None of us are perfect, and there is no "special formula" to be solved here, but what is amazing is that we are ABLE to ask the Holy Spirit for us to be sensitive to where or what we should be doing at this moment of the day...all the time.
"In our relationships with others, we need to emulate these (grace and compassion) characteristics of God." (Wendy Caress-http://wendycaress.blogspot.com/)
So lets all live they way Jesus lived and share His beautifully simple message!!
Tchau
This is
- Andrew Burcham
- Phoenix, Arizona, United States
- ...Nothing too special here...I love God...Love what Jesus did for us...Love ALL my family...Love ALL my friends...Love hockey...and here are some versus that I love... Galatians 1:10..1 Thessalonians 2:12..James 1:2-4..Philippians 2:3-4..Philippians 3:13..Philippians 4:13..Colossians 4:5..Job 42:1-2..Jeremiah 1:6-7
1 comment:
Wow, Andrew, when you make up for lost time on your blog you really do a number on it! :) Awesome post.
As for the seminary degree thing, I think it all depends on how it's used. Paul is pretty clear (which you of course remember from AWANA) that we are to "study to show ourselves approved...", but you're right... people aren't really looking for a discourse on hermeneutics (even if they knew what it was). But the knowledge gained from that training, in the right hands (or minds), can be powerful indeed. You need look no farther than my brother for ready evidence of that. He'd probably be a decent preacher without his seminary training but there's no doubt in my mind that what he learned informs what he teaches. I think he's a much more capable communicator of God's truth than I am... and I've not graduated from seminary!
You are so right about the living-speaking connection. Though of course I'm well aware of the principle, I'd actually never quite thought of it in quite that way and tied it all together before. Good job. Thanks!
Pax domine,
Tedd
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