David Pettett
Many times when, as a hospital chaplain, I have been invited to the bedside
of a complete stranger, I have been amazed, as they have recounted their life's
journey, at how, at significant points in their story, God has touched their
life.
The patient sharing their story has not always been aware of these
encounters. But as I've listened it has been obvious to me that God has been
blessing them. It may be the obvious blessings that God bestows on all people.
The rain. The sunshine. The birth of a child. A loving partner in marriage. Or
it may have been something more specific. Protection from an accident or the
provision of a job.
The privilege of being the chaplain in this situation is that there is the
expectation from this complete stranger that you will introduce some
"religious" talk. And so I would always comment on some aspect of
their life's story where it seemed obvious to me that God had blessed them or
was directing them. Almost without exception the patient would respond with
acknowledgment that, "Yes, God must have been with me then." It is
fairly easy to go on in a conversation like this, where someone recognises that
God does actually have an interest in their life, to talk about Jesus and to
challenge the person to recognise his Lordship.
If you reflect on life with Job 28 you look at all the amazing things
mankind can do and has done. But thinking about all of this, thinking about all
the amazing things a person has done in their life, you come up against the
question, "But where shall wisdom be found?" (v.12) In all the
amazing things a person has done, what is it all about? If you come to the
conclusion that all the amazing efforts and exploits of humanity give life
meaning, you come a cropper. Our efforts to understand life lead us nowhere.
(v.13) The beauty of the world and the value of precious metals and stone have
no answer. (vv. 14-19) Is it all meaningless, as life just ends in death with
nothing more? (vv. 20-22)
When you come to the answer, that "God understands the way to it"
(v.23) you need to be careful how this is expressed so that it doesn't appear
to be the glib "Sunday School answer". To understand life, theology
must intersect with experience. The glib Sunday School answer may be the right
theology but it may not intersect with a person's experience. With the mere
mention of the word "God" a person may be distracted into stereotypes
of what that word means in their experience. Their experiences probably have
not been understood in the light of what the Bible says about God and humanity.
They will therefore have no way of entering into an understanding of the
profound statement, "God understands the way to wisdom." We need to
express this biblical truth in a way that will touch the life of the person
we're speaking with. How we express this will vary depending on the other
person's life experiences.
This is where the importance of listening comes in. As we spend time
listening to a human story we not only empower a person but we gain some
understanding of their world view. With such an understanding we start to see
points in their life where a biblical understanding of life might intersect
with their experience. Such an understanding then helps us express biblical
truths, not in terms that might be profound to us, but with words that tap into
the other person's understanding of life.
It's a great privilege to bring the gospel into the public sphere. To do it
well we need both a clear theological understanding of life and a clear
understanding of what the unbeliever understands of life. And then we need some
skill to bring about an intersection of these two. It's not an easy skill to
develop but one with great rewards for the gospel.
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