The Easter eggs have been in the shops for so long one could be forgiven for forgetting exactly when it was. Soon after Easter we will see Christmas in July start to be advertised and in August, well it will be nearly the time to start advertising Christmas in December!
It must all get too confusing for those who come from overseas and have not been 'indoctrinated' with our commercialisation of Christian events.
The great thing is, whenever they are mentioned we need to see them as a positive opportunity to bring the real meaning of these events into our discussions.
In the last month we had the attempt to convince the world that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Many people went into hyper drive to denounce the film and the Discovery Channel for showing it.
We sent out by email a 10 point 'facts sheet' so that Christians could debate the issue from facts that clearly showed why the story was false, rather than simply slam it as false without any evidence. We need to use these situations to advance our cause.
Two days later I received an email from www.str.org - a great web site run by Greg Koukl, who trains Christians to contend for their faith in constructive ways. We use his DVD on the 'Colombo' tactic in our Worldview Schools.
He stated "The documentary 'The Lost Tomb of Jesus' hadn't even aired yet and many Christians were already in a panic. Just the suggestion that someone found Jesus' bones in a limestone box had believers by the droves shaking their fists or sticking their heads in the sand in a don't-confuse-me-with-the-facts posture. Apparently, many Christians don't even need to see the evidence to pass judgment."
"Look, if the Bible says it and you believe it, that might settle it for you, but it doesn't settle it for millions who might be interested in your ideas and are waiting to hear a thoughtful response to what appears on the surface to be a fair challenge...
"There are good reasons to doubt the conclusions of this documentary, but no one will ever know them if Christians pull up the drawbridge and bellow from the parapet."
He is right. All too often today people run away from a good debate. Sometimes that is because they know too little about the issue. In those cases, Greg says, "make notes and offer to get back to them". That is sound advice we should all heed. It suggests you are interested.
Sometimes, though, it is because we have been told we must 'be nice', not confront, and "meet people where they are at", "listen to, and learn from, their journey"?
Jesus listened to people so he could ask the right questions; so that through His questions they would expose the flaws in their own arguments or even their lives. He would then use their own words to challenge them to change their lives.
Sin was never treated with respect or given dignity by Christ, but sadly it is by today's world and even by many in the church.
The Message paraphrase of Jude 2-23 says "Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven."
People need to hear the truth, but they will only hear it after we have shown we care enough to listen and ask questions.
Yours in His Service
Peter & Jenny Stokes
Salt Shakers
This is the April Editorial for the Salt Shakers monthly publication.