Did You Hear that Differently?

A handy tool to use when talking with a friend or acquaintance about Christian faith topics is (when it seems appropriate) to tell a simple story that Jesus told. Many can be told in less than 60 seconds which means you can use it within the flow of your conversation (it also means you can record as a YouTube short or TikTok video!). An open and inviting question to then ask is: "What does this story tell you about God and people?".

Be totally cool with the fact that their answer may be nothing like what you expect!

That's especially true if they are coming from a different culture or religion. Not long ago I had the opportunity to share the story of the 'Lost Coin' with three different people. For each I asked the same inviting question. Two of them said (independently) the same answer: 'If you go looking for a god, you will find it'. I was fascinated, because that is 180 degrees from our classic understanding of God searching for lost people! For one of those I played with the concept with them to see if they could hear the story flipped back round, but their understanding really remained in the 'search for a god' mindset.

Both of the people are originally from a southern Asia culture and religious background, which entertains a plurality of gods. This is where storytelling is so useful: it is effectively a universal communication channel that can be used across the globe - we all like to hear & process stories. Stories invite others to process and think for themselves, which is better than us trying to download truth-content to others, because ultimately people need to receive spiritually, and not simply assent to your faith statements. But while stories are a universal comms channel, the exact meaning heard by the listener will be unique to them, and heavily influenced by their own background and understandings.

The good news is that in a friendly conversation, whatever their answer may be, it gives a starting point from which to dialogue further, even if it seems to be quite different to the Christian textbook response. Remember that Jesus started from where people were at, and then journeyed from that point ...

Interestingly the third person I told the story to was a young person with a White British background with a fair degree of Christian influence. Although their answer was pretty much the classic one, they also offered an alternative similar to my first two friends, saying: 'If you search for God, you will find God' - echoing (without realising it) Deuteronomy 4:29, 1 Chronicles 28:9 and 2 Chronicles 15:2.