Keep the Conversation Bubbling

If the person has no interest in embroidery at all then the conversation is very short-lived and I don’t bring it up again.

Jeremiah 12:1-17

Reference:  v.1  You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before you.  Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?  Why do all the faithless live at ease?

Explore:  I have recently recovered a rather embarrassing skill of mine.  While looking through some old boxes late last year I found a half-completed cross-stitch.  (This is a type of embroidery where you create a picture out of coloured threads using a cross shaped pattern.)  It’s by no means top of the ‘cool list’ to sit down and do such a needlework, unless you are over 65!  But I have been brave enough to share with some people that I am keen to finish my long-forgotten project.  If the person I am talking to is interested in embroidery then they will ask to see my work-in-progress and we will talk at length about needle work and our conversation will keep bubbling along.  However, if the person has no interest in embroidery at all then the conversation is very short-lived and I don’t bring it up again.
Sometimes this is also how I feel when I speak to people about God and faith.  If the topic comes in to conversation you can quickly gauge whether the person is exploring such things.  Just like my tapestry conversations, the conversation will either flourish and keep bubbling or it will be quickly pushed to the side.  However, many people are content in where they currently sit and so have no desire to move closer to God.  And so it’s hard to prompt a desire within them when they are prospering and living at ease in their current status.

Application:   Jeremiah struggled with this same question as he went around prophesying to the people of Judah, telling them to turn from their rebellious ways.  What was the point when their rebellion seemed to give them prosperity?  And what is the point of us encouraging our friends and family to turn to God when their life is full enough already?  However, we know, as we read through the stories from the Bible and as we witness in our own lives, that the prosperity of this world is fleeting and will pass away.  It may seem to fill one hole but it will never replace the love and grace that we can only receive from our Lord and Saviour.  No matter how content people feel, we will only be complete when we are moving closer to God.  While we can’t push people in to faith, let’s keep the conversation bubbling so that when they realise their need for real love and grace, they know where to come.

Prayer:  Lord, we fill our lives with so much – possessions, social occasions, work responsibilities.  And yet You are the only thing that will truly make us whole.  May we look to You to fill our lives.  Amen.

How are you going with sharing your faith with the people around you?  Is the conversation still bubbling?

conversation, faith, Jeremiah