They Didn't Seem To Know

Written about five years ago, but no less applicable to life in 2019. - Glenn

I love spending time with my wife. That may seem like it should be an obvious statement, but we haven't always had as much time to spend together as we'd like. With kids who need to go from here to there at lightening speed, pressing schedules, and the fact that I get up so early for work we are two people who really appreciate each other that live with words of encouragement sent by text, phone or email.

No, it's not really as bad as that, but there are days when it can seem so. On this day, however, we had almost two hours with no agenda. We sat outside a local coffee shop watching traffic go by. We saw a couple of people walk by with backpacks and bedrolls. We saw individuals who were impatient racing around other motorists. We heard some vehicles before we saw them.

The last time we had these moments at this same shop we met a couple with a dog breed I'd never seen or heard of. They were from California and found the pace of our town to be a little too slow for their modern sensibilities. They canceled their order and ventured on.

This morning we met a family from Reno, Nevada. They seemed willing to wait for their order and asked if they could share the patio with my wife and me.

When my wife went inside for a moment the husband said, “Excuse me. Do you live here?”

“I sure do,” I replied.

“Just wondering if there is anything to do here.” He seemed perplexed.

I pointed down the road to a well known local landmark and told him a little bit about it.

“That's what I was after. I asked the people inside and they didn't know of anything,” he smiled.

With the country fair in town I told them about that and they seemed interested.

After we left I thought about what the man said, “I asked... and they didn't seem to know.” Why didn't the people inside the shop know?

Then again, I wonder if the same could be said of us (those who follow Jesus).

Does it seem a stretch to come to that conclusion? Maybe. I have recently been studying the book of Jude. In that book we are told to 'contend for the faith'. The idea is that we are to prepare for a battle of worldviews. Can we defend what we believe?

It's true we don't need to defend God. He can handle that on His own. We are asked to exert some spiritual effort in learning what we need to learn to give an answer for the hope that can be found within our own hearts.

We have access to the most attractive news on the planet, but it is possible we have no ability to share what we know because we don't really know enough to engage others in a way that doesn't embarrass us or cause us to become confused.

You wouldn't engage the services of a surgeon who has never attended college, or a mechanic who has never worked on an engine, yet it seems there is a growing number of people who engage in a culture dedicated to Christianity, but have no idea what they should believe, and why.

So when someone stops and asks where God is at work in our lives we really don't want them to tell others, “I asked... and they didn't seem to know.”

Contend for the faith. Make it a part of your conversation, your life, and the words you share with those who really need to know more about how God transforms life.

Hmmmm, and to think this thought all started because I wanted to spend some quiet moments with my wife. I believe I need to do that more often.