Thought for the Week – 22nd May 2016 – Dennis Pethers

 Matthew records in his gospel:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

Matthew 16:13-16

Jesus continually asked questions and, as I wrote last week, questions are a great way to engage in a conversation with a person to establish a connection and begin to build a bridge for a conversation about Jesus.

One of my favourite places to ask questions is at the gym I go to.  I think I am about the only person there that doesn’t have a tattoo.  So, frequently, as I am working out I am surrounded by people with the most fascinating body art and in so many cases what they have had ‘inked on’ clearly represents something or someone that is very significant in their lives.  My simple ‘question’ is always something like ‘that’s a fascinating tattoo – I am fascinated to know what it means’. 

Over the past few months this has led to my having on going discussions with a number of people and I have been told about such things as ‘a deep longing for truth but not knowing where to find it’, ‘a real concern for my two daughters as they grow older and I don’t know how to keep them safe from harm in a messed up world’, ‘I love God but I am not good enough to go to church’, ‘I am an atheist but I don’t mind you praying for my wife who is suffering from cancer’. 

These are just brief excerpts from a handful of so many conversations I have had about deep things in people’s lives and, on each occasion, the person has eventually asked me about what is important in my life – all this began with a simple question.

Tattoo evangelism may not be your thing but who could you begin a conversation with this week by asking a question that expresses an interest in their life?