When I played college baseball, we used to play games on the road to make the time go by faster. My game of choice was either Spades or these riddle word games. My favorite of the riddles was The Green Glass Door. The riddle goes like this:
There is a Green Glass Door, a goose can fit through the Green Glass Door but not a duck. A
deer can fit through the Green Glass Door but not a doe. What else can fit through the Green Glass Door? Any guesses?
You might be rattling off some guesses right now or you could be sitting there like several of my teammates were with more questions than answers.
Here's the thing…some people would get it, but most wouldn't. I would give some hints, or
maybe dance around the answer, but they still wouldn't get it. It did not matter how hard they tried to think or come up with different ideas, they couldn’t get it. Ultimately, they would need someone who knew to help them by clearly speaking the trick to the riddle.
I think that is very similar to how we share our faith in Jesus with others. I hear people talk about sharing Jesus with others and I certainly don't think any follower would disagree with the "Great Commission". However, there seems to be a tendency of most believers today to separate showing Jesus in actions from speaking Jesus to the lost.
Don't misunderstand me, we absolutely must show the love of Christ in our actions and be the ones out front leading the charge to serve our neighbor and community. However, we should be concerned just as much for the Lord to give us opportunities to speak about Jesus and then have the courage to step into those moments. This is what Paul is speaking to in Colossians 4:2-4.
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
Colossians 4:2-4
We should be praying that God would open a door for us and then pray that we would have the conviction to step through that door and speak the gospel, clearly.
So how can we speak it clearly? Thankfully Paul gives us some further insight in the letter to the Colossians:
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Colossians 4:5-6
Make it important
Paul in verse 5 is praying that we would walk in God's wisdom to be aware when this is a
moment He wants to speak. God is drawing all men to himself so I want to be looking for when those moments are and then jump on it.
Make it Beautiful
We have a culture that is starving for beauty and transcendence. I know that because I can't even remember when I have seen a truly great awe-inspiring movie. Not to mention, it takes me 30 minutes just to choose a movie to watch despite the endless amount of content I have on Netflix or any other streaming service. Paul in verse 6 is saying our speech should be appealing. It should draw others in. We have the greatest story ever and the answer to dried-up weary souls. Share it with confidence knowing you aren't speaking about some product but the very thing we all were made for.
Make it Personal
Paul says if we do these things, we will be able to then answer anyone whenever they have
questions about the Gospel. The major reason we don't share Jesus is that we are afraid of not knowing how to respond if someone asks us a question we don't know. I understand that fear, but can I ask you to reflect on this question? How often in your daily life are you interacting with theoretical astrophysicists asking you questions about string theory and superfluidity? I would bet that's pretty rare. However, even if you do, just because I don't know it doesn't mean that there isn't AN ANSWER. Tell the person, you don't know and ask if you can do some research and then meet up again in a week. There are amazing saints like Stephen Meyer of the Discovery Institute who can speak to these questions.
Additionally, while yes the Gospel speaks to the cosmic reconciliation of all things through the person and work of Jesus, God also wrote YOU into the story. If you don’t know what to say, share your story. Share how Jesus took you from death to life. Share how he delivered you from darkness into light. Our testimony is the most powerful witness we have, so if the conversation gets too "in the clouds" bring it back down and ask the person "Can I share with you how Jesus changed my life?" From there, connect Jesus to their story. Alvin Reid in his book "Sharing Jesus without Freaking Out" put it beautifully saying "Sharing Jesus is as simple as connecting with others around their passion or their pain." Make it personal, because Jesus is personal.
So I have to ask, did you figure out the riddle yet? I could give you more hints like: What do an Apple and Rooster have in common? I could tell you to focus on how Green Glass and Door are spelled and you might get the trick. However, it isn't until I tell you that the key to the riddle is the double letters back-to-back that you finally see it clearly. Green Glass Door.
Just like this riddle, we need to make the gospel clear to those who don’t know Jesus, and the only way to make it abundantly clear is by speaking it.
AUTHOR
Jordan Hill
Jordan Hill is the Men's and Groups Minister at 121 Community Church in Grapevine, TX. Take a glimpse into Jordan's groups ministry he oversees and extract the principles he shares to see groups grow in their local church. He shares about the importance of focusing on people in your groups ministry, investing into your group leaders, and not allowing all the other necessary parts of discipleship keep us from the main thing - people.
WANT MORE . . . ?
If you enjoyed this article, you can find even more great content by subscribing to our blog and checking out Adam's newest book that releases in October, "Group Leader Training: A Biblical Manual for Group Leaders and Teachers in the Local Church." Or, share a comment, question, concern, correction, or compliment below.
#buildgroups #buildgroupsconference #smallgroups #builddisciples #smallgroupconferences #buildgroups #smallgroup #SGN #smallgrouptraining #smallgroupleaders #LifeGroup #pastors #church #equip #makedisciples #Jesus #jesuschrist #GroupLeader #discipleship #membershipmatters #belong #gospel #gospelliving #cohort #cohorts #ministrycohorts