Pentecost 43 Leaving No Stone Unturned

[HKHaugan]

Pentecost 43 Leaving No Stone Unturned

The big issue in witnessing is dodging stones. The stones are not those that will be physically thrown at you but the kind that we know as snubs, rolling eyes, polite listening, condescension and sometimes overt hostility that you would dare to ‘get religious.’ It is these kinds of stones that we are asked to take away too. They come from unbelief, past hurts, bad church experience, childhood and family struggles, no parental faith experience at all and the spiritual base of all those, fear and pride—sin’s twins.

The bottom line is that sin and its twins are the common denominator underlying all human reaction outside of God. These are the spiritual stalagmites in the dark caverns of a lonely heart. They have accumulated over time and when we bring the light of Christ into those caverns there will be a reaction.

Most of the time the reaction is more of a test than an actual anti-Christian barb. The test is to see if who you are and claim to be is authentic. Do you react in anger, in defensiveness, in argumentation? Or do you absorb the initial onslaught and why?

When people meet each other what the heart is looking for is trustability. As we communicate are we emanating an aura of being trustable? Do we come across as open, calm and unshakeable regardless of what is said?

If we look at Jesus He was the same person wherever He went and with whomever He met in spite of their social position or secular authority. His presence exuded one who was real, authoritative and caring. He was a natural leader. People wanted to follow Him. He was a threat to the social and political order not because He had worldly power or amassed a following. It was because He was a person whose heart, honesty and confidence in all His encounters never wavered. He was as comfortable among the poor as He was among the rich and powerful. He never compromised who He was. People like Jesus are threats anywhere. They touch that unseen insecurity in hearts that depend on the recognition and acceptance of others. People who have a need for power and control want others to defer to them, be shown respect even if they don’t deserve it. It is those kind of people who are threatened.

When Jesus was baited to argue He saw through their intent, remained calm, let them rant and rave. He knew their thoughts, their hearts and their spirits. He always countered with the Father and His Word in mind.

So what does that mean for us? Simply this, if Jesus lives in our hearts then He is always present, His Spirit is always sensing within us and our realization of these facts means we let Him be our confidence, our peace, our mind and our response. If we trust the Lord within then people without can trust us. Whether or not they like us or accept us is irrelevant. We are letting Him be who He is through us.

Remember this, when Jesus rose from the dead He won every argument, solved every conflict, gave us personal access to His Father and the Kingdom of Heaven, granted eternal life, defeated the final enemies, sin, evil, death and the devil. So what do we have to fear? What do we have to defend? What do we have to preserve? He accomplished it all. So as we go day by day we welcome reactions no matter what they are. They are opportunities to let others see the Lord. They are the stones in the hearts of others that we can take away with a gentle reply, a request to say more, a welcome smile instead of an angry frown. It is our humility before God in the presence of others that makes the difference, softens the stones and makes you trustable. Oh yes, and by the way, the same Holy Spirit softens the stones in our hearts in the process. Isn’t God good when He blesses us twice? Where else and from whom else could this come? Stay tuned…….