Nonsense Or Understanding

I have many seasonal flags.
I change them frequently for various holidays and occasions.
Birthday flags, hearts for Valentine’s Day, shamrocks for St. Patrick’s day.
I enjoy the whimsy…as they flap softly in the breeze.

I had a flag out this past week that I inadvertently hung backwards.
Often when flags have words, the words are written on both sides.
This enables you to hang them either way.
This flag was readable on one side only; the other side was written in reverse.

I never noticed it when I bought the flag.
I noticed it yesterday when I took the flag down to hang the birthday flag for my son.
For more than a week, no one said anything.
We came and went each day…probably seeing the flag with a cursory glance.

Welcome Friends became…sdneirF emocleW.

The town of Boonville, California is trying to save their local language.
The 150-year-old language is known as “Boontling”.
It is slowly dying since many of the young people do not want to continue using the words.

The language came into existence when a young, unmarried girl was carrying a child.
The women of the town wanted to talk among themselves about her situation.
They didn’t want to embarrass her, however, as they gossiped.
They coined words to hide what they were really saying.
Their husbands heard the language and began to use it as they sheared the sheep.
The language stuck and today consists of about 1500 words.

Newspaper articles were written in Boontling.
To the untrained ear…those that are not a native of Boonville…it sounds like nonsense.

Isn’t that what our “Christian-ese” sounds like to an unbeliever?
We use words and terms that sound like nonsense to them.
It doesn’t mean that we must water down our theology or throw away our creeds.
It does mean that we speak and act in a gentle manner, while sharing Truth.

We are all at different points in our faith walk.
When we relate to an unbeliever, or a person young in the faith, we must do so with a gracious demeanor…with the Fruit of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22,23)

We have to remember that we once walked where they are now walking.
God has put them in our path for a reason.

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.
“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?”
So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him…Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” (Acts 8:26-31,35)

Philip began with that very passage of Scripture.

In order to evangelize well…you have to listen well.
First, you must listen to God as he speaks through His Word.
Then, you must listen to the person God has placed before you.
You have to listen to what is being asked.
You have to meet the person where they are.

Evangelism is not ready made sermons.
It is not quick go-to answers.
It is not one size fits all.

It is listening to what is said and what is asked.
It is gently leading and teaching…and pointing to Christ.
It is sharing the Good News with kindness and clarity.

Evangelism is like building.
First and foremost, the foundation has to be built on the Rock…which is Jesus.
Then, layer upon layer, you build up from there.
All the while…praying that you will be faithful to the Blueprints you have been given.
Building takes time.

It is the Spirit’s job to make sure the language that we speak is understood.
He is the One who takes the words that are nonsense in the beginning, and translates them to a living language of saving faith.

We should not have our own language as Christians…that only few can understand.
We must share the Gospel clearly…with the Spirit’s help.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language…We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues. (Acts 2:5,6,11)

It is no different now.
The same Gospel is being shared.
The same Spirit enables us to speak.
Not nonsense…but life giving Truth.