Let Your Light Shine
Grannies, I have told you no specific suggestions regarding initiating a conversation about Jesus.
I found this suggestion from E. Stanley Jones in Victorious Living, during my God Time on September 26.
“Jesus began at the place of [the person’s] dominant interest…Try to find the dominant interest in people and lead them along the line of that dominant interest. Is a youth’s interest in athletics? Talk about a strong body, and the necessity of purity if that body is to be strong, and the dynamic in Christ to keep one pure. Are parents wrapped up in their children? Then the suggestion is simple: They want to give the children the best, but they cannot do it unless they have it themselves.”
What do you do if your loved one refuses to engage in that conversation? Mr. Jones said, “If they should snub you? What of it? Be so spiritually cheerful that you don’t know when you are snubbed! You will find many reasons why you should not share what you have found. I never speak to a person without having to fight past those reasons. But the one reason always persists: People need it…”
Mr. Jones explains further: “The first tendency of the human heart is to close up at the approach of an intruder. It is the instinct of self-preservation. We do not easily let people into our lives. When people raise lesser issues, get rid of those issues by fastening their attention on higher issues. Don’t get tangled up in other issues.”
Teens are especially prone to tuning us out, wouldn’t you say? Suppose your teen is susceptible to “the wrong crowd”. Rather than condemn that group, get your teen to share how they act, what they believe in, what they talk about. Does the teen have friends who hang with “the crowd”. How has that relationship affected the friend, or how the friend treats your teen?
Ask questions. Tell a story from your life. Take the conversation as far as you can without creating hostility, resentment, or your loved one “shutting down”. Leave the door open for more conversation. This leads to your loved one contemplating the subject. Resist anger or fear on your part.
Always smile, and remind your family members how much you love them and how proud you are of them. Your best bet is…”Jesus loves and values you – so do I!!”
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matt 5:16
What do you think, Grannies? Do you have any success stories to share?
10/03/20