Saturday, February 25, 2006

A life lesson...

In somewhat anti-social fashion, I leave my family at their restaurant table, and head for the bar to catch the end of the cricket. I am only somewhat distracted by the racket going on around me, as what I later learn are a group of shearers make merry. Idly, I start pondering the apparent gulf between myself and the other people in the room- privileged middle class versus working, white collar versus blue. I wonder how I can possibly relate to any of these folks, and find myself quite emphatically concluding that I can't. I might be able to make a difference in their lives through some indirect means, but no sir, if I try to talk to them about anything beyond the frivilous they'll scoff in my face.

How wrong could I be. I was too gormless to start a conversation myself, but I accidentally found myself face to face with a girl and she made the first step. After she assured me that she wasn't hitting on me, we made small talk for a while- she was surprised to learn that I knew the location of her home town, Tuatapere, as my aunt and uncle used to live there; I was even more surprised to discover that she remembered them. Then I mentioned I was in a band, and that we often play in churches. "So you're a christian then?" Why yes, I suppose I am...

After receiving several more emphatic assurances that I wasn't being hit on, I found myself being bombarded with questions- Why hasn't God answered my prayers? Why does God allow pain? Why, if God loves us, is the world such a mess? Why should I believe in something I can't see? Am I a bad person because I smoke dope?

So there I was, engaged in a deep philosophical discourse on the meaning of life and other topics most christians are too scared to properly discuss, with a person I had subconciously written off as being beneath said topics only minutes earlier. We ended up talking for close to an hour, exchanging various personal stories and the like. I couldn't adequately answer most of her questions, but I shared the gospel- not exactly your standard black book version- but the gospel none the less. She said she believed in God, but struggled for this reason and that to accept the christian way. I told her fair enough- it isn't easy, but encouraged her to keep seeking God. When she eventually had to go, she said it was really encouraging talking to me. I hope she was half as encouraged as I was!

The moral of the story? Don't EVER let yourself think that it's not worthwhile talking to a person. No matter who they are, and who you are, you can still make a difference. You never know what effect one conversation can have. And, every christian should spend more time hanging out in pubs.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yo G!

That’s really encouraging, appreciate you sharing that story. I hope things are well with you, this blog is awesome, keep it up! Stay in touch.

T.

Mich said...

Well, what can i say, Gregg I am very proud of you! I still belive that if more xtians approahced the sharing of their faith in that way then the world was certainly know more christians, probably like them a lot more and may be even be willing to listen.
God bless - and Hope ou had a great time with the Greymouth guys