This week the coronavirus was declared a pandemic, travel restrictions have been expanded, the economy is in turmoil, all the major sports leagues have suspended the rest of the season, and March Madness college basketball has been cancelled. WOW! Our everyday lives have changed, the next few months are new territory.
Our greatest challenge in reaching our friends who need Jesus is breaking through the spiritual apathy gap – “My life is good, I have everything I need, God is irrelevant.” The missing skill is our ability to ask questions. A well placed question is the key to unlock a person’s innermost thoughts. Jesus was a master at asking questions. Even in the Garden after the Fall, God’s first response was to initiate a conversation by asking Adam and Eve questions.
EVERYONE is thinking and talking about the coronavirus. The usual flow of conversation will be about how things have changed, speculation about what will happen next, and politically charged assessments of our government’s response. But a well placed question can change the course of these conversations. An intentional, winsome question can begin a spiritual conversation. The coronavirus has shaken the things we take for granted, and revealed how fragile the things are upon which we routinely depend.
“Look how much has changed over the last month, what does that say about our lives?”
“What is your greatest fear as things unfold?”
“What is the one thing that you can depend on through all this?”
Questions like this can open the door to honest conversation about the issues of life. After carefully listening to our friends respond, these conversations may give us opportunities to share the answers we have in Christ. We may be able to show our relationship with Jesus applies to real life, it is not just a Sunday thing.
Over the coming weeks, may the Lord give us opportunities to share Christ.
1) Be in prayer for the lost people in your life
2) Be filled with the Holy Spirit, (DM Series 3, Sec 5)
3) Give prayerful consideration to good questions you can ask
4) Be intentional, look for opportunities, and be ready to give an answer, 1 Pet 3:15
May the Lord use each of us to be part of a Disciple Making Movement within our sphere of influence.