Knowing Nothing

Do you ever read or watch something that completely turns what you think you know on its head?  A couple weeks ago we started watching a video series by Carl Medaeris called "Engage," and it's all about how to engage culture as you share your faith in Jesus.  The paradigm Carl shared had our heads spinning, and gave us more than just a little to think about.  I love that kind of stuff!  I love being challenged in the way I think so I can not only learn more about myself, but also about other people.

In the sessions we watched, Carl discussed how stressed out people get about trying to "evangelize" people from other religions, because they don't know anything about those religions.  I know the feeling.  It can be incredibly intimidating talking to someone from another faith background when you think you need to have all the right answers.  But wait, isn't that making it all about us when we come at it from that angle?  Isn't it supposed to be about Jesus?  Whoever said I have to have all the answers?  The point Carl was making is that we shouldn't try to argue people into the kingdom of God.  When we think we need all the right answers, our pride gets in the way of doing anything even remotely productive.  We have to start with what we know, and that's Jesus.  

I absolutely love what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."  Amen!  I know how downright terrifying it can be to share my faith with someone who doesn't agree with me at all.  I tend to put all sorts of undue pressure on myself, when really all I'm doing is taking back a burden that Jesus never meant for me to carry in the first place.  Funny how we all tend to do that sometimes...  

Engaging people and sharing the gospel isn't about winning an argument, it's about simply sharing what you know about Jesus through the way he's working in your life.  Wow, that's not so hard after all!  I might not know every detail about every doctrine, but I certainly know my own story pretty well.  I can tell you the things that Jesus is doing in my life on a daily basis, and I bet you can too.  That's where the power lies.  You can talk about doctrine till you're blue in the face, but if your life isn't a visible demonstration of what Jesus can do, who's going to listen?

One other thing that Carl said is, "Jesus is the missionary, we are just pointers to him."  How true.  It is the Holy Spirit who draws people to himself.  John 6:44 says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.  It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.'  Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me."  Doesn't this take the pressure off?  We are not ultimately responsible for someone's decision to follow Christ.  If we have shared our faith and lived our life in such a way that represents Jesus well, we have done what we are called to do.  We can leave the rest up to God!

It is clear to me that I still have so much to learn about Jesus.  As soon as I start to think I know much, he reveals himself in a new way that leaves my head spinning.  He also leaves me humbled, and for that I am thankful.  So rather than debating and arguing about different faiths, we can approach others with a humbled heart and an earnest desire to seek Jesus wherever he may be found.  We're sure to be much more effective in sharing the gospel when we do so with an open heart!