Talking. You would think for someone who makes his living at it I would be good at communicating effectively and be able to listen well.
Not always. I had a discussion with a twenty something male recently. He was asking about my social media presence. I told him I keep a very low profile because I have had difficult encounters in the past. Andhewasoffandrunningwiththatjustasfastashecould.
And if you had trouble with that last sentence, you should have heard what he immediately had to say about being DM'd. Now I know for some of you this is difficult to handle. As more technology has crept into our everyday usage, we are abandoning old ways and old rules. Abbreviations reign on text messages. There is no studying of acronyms such as the word 'Radar'. Or 'sonar' for that matter. And have you noticed how adverbs are on life support? I say this because I recently experienced this in a worship service. The pastor leading barely took a breath during the Lord's Prayer. He got several complaints from his parishioners after the service for racing through Jesus' Prayer. And lest we think this is a new problem, it is really an old one. Jesus had the same problem in a different form, and still he tried hard to be clear in his talking.
In Matthew 16, Jesus is talking about his death. He has been clear about who Peter is, and who he is to become, earlier in the chapter - and now he is very clear in rebuking him as well. The same cannot be said when we come upon another discussion headed in the same direction in John 14. Jesus and Philip are having a discussion and Jesus cannot get Philip to see that Jesus and God are working together in perfect synchronicity. More than once Jesus makes his point. More than once it goes right over Philip's head. We find ourselves in that same place often now, as we try and witness to our faith in words as well as deeds.
Just to underline that point, ponder this one. That same young man said that TV and cable channels are dying rapidly. That smarts when you are one of the first generation raised with this 'new' technology. However, the young man said that he and all his friends never watch. They stream everything on their device of choice. The beauty of our faith is that it is so revolutionary that it always draws attention. Having a man die and come back to life some time later is just the beginning of the astounding witness we get to show and tell others about. No matter what words we are using. So, which platform will you use this week in witnessing to your faith? Pr. Scott
