A Venn Diagram is two or more overlapping circles. One of the most memorable uses of a Venn Diagram involves communication. If my life is the circle on the right and yours is the circle on the left, the only experiences we will be able to talk about are those where our two circles overlap. In other words, people communicate best about things with which they are both familiar.
If my world and yours are completely different—alien—how will we find common ground?
The Apostle Paul understood this and used it in his preaching. He was intelligent enough to have insight into things he had not experienced and could speak to people with that kind of empathy.
“Although I am a free man and no one’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone in order to win more people. To the Jews, I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win those under the law. To those outside the law, like one outside the law (though I am bound by the law of Christ)—to win those outside the law. To the weak, I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that I might by all possible means win some. And I do this because of the gospel” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.
The best use of your time is to spend it sharing the Good News about Jesus.
Talk about your faith the same way you discuss everything else in your life—faith IS part of your life, right? It makes sense to naturally bring it up sometimes. And when you talk about it, find ways to connect your faith to the circumstances of those around you: become “all things to all men.”
Dear God, give us opportunities to talk about our faith in You—and teach us how to make it relevant to those who listen. Use us.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 