Words. I speak an obscene amount of words through out the course of a day. I could hide behind the fact that I’m in sales and words are my job but since the age of nine months old, you could say that I started talking and have not shut up since.
The other day I stumbled upon a conversation with a worker in an office I call on in which I conveyed some drama that unfolded just that morning. Unbeknownst to me, another person in the office–my customer–overheard me say that I prayed the Lord would protect me from the fall out of that morning’s drama.
He sneered, “Does the Lord really care enough to protect you?” referring to the somewhat meaningless incident I was speaking of to which I replied,
“Yes, my Jesus cares about anything that is important to me.”
“You mean the Jesus who saved you by his blood shed on the cross?” he said dripping with sarcasm.
My stomach churned at the sound of the word JESUS spoken with such contempt and irreverence. I did not have the luxury of continuing this conversation toward a meaningful ending, but this situation got me thinking about the words we use as Christians and the actual impact they have on others.
Whether or not you live in the Bible belt as I do, I would venture to say that most non Christians in your neighborhood have heard about Jesus and know the lingo us Christians use to talk about the Gospel. This man sure did. This phrase in question is found through out the New Testament; it is a Holy concept.
So why weren’t his words “by his blood shed on the cross” spoken with a sense of reverence rather than the obvious sarcasm and eye rolling?
Are there other phrases that nonChristians in our culture know about but don’t REALLY know about?
Why don’t these words and phrases resonate with them?
Why isn’t the life changing meaning of our Christian lingo actually changing lives?
Could we as Christians do a better job of speaking in depth about critical Biblical concepts rather than simply relying on the phrase and hoping the recipient will just get what we attempt to convey?
I really don’t have the answers to these questions, but they have weighed on my heart for some time now. I guess it is time for me to dig in.
Over the next several posts I will attempt to make sense of my words above and write (talk) through this dilemma of mine.
Please know that I view the Christian/Biblical phrases and words with upmost awe and wonder. I want to get to the core of their meaning so the next time I say a phrase like “by the blood shed on the cross” it will be followed with words and actions that support this Biblical phrase. I hope that these extended words and actions will beg the listener to sit at that very cross themselves and experience the enormity of the very one who died on it. Jesus.
Stay tuned as I plan on writing about the phrase I chose for my ministry name: Living Out The Kinship of Christ.
In the meantime, think about some “churchy” lingo that you typically rely on in conversation with out diving deep to their core meaning. I would love to hear what you come up with.
Sarah,
There is a verse in the Bible found in Hosea 4:6 “My people perish for lack of knowledge..” You bring up some interesting points. I think perhaps we need to look at the Word and developed a deeper understanding a reverence for it. One of the things I have noticed is how phrases have taken on blasphemous meanings and we don’t even know it. For example, the phrase “for crying out loud” that we use without even knowing it had its origens from when Christ was on the cross and “cried out loud”. Kind of makes you shutter, doesn’t it. To think that we speak without even knowing what we are saying. “For Pete’s sake also has its origins from the Bible. I think it is so important as Christians that we educate ourselves and let “..our speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt that you may know how you ought to answer every man.” Col. 4:6
Kelly! Thanks for such interesting insite-you always have cool things to say!
Hello Sarah!
Wow, I too have been in situations like that. At first I was irriatate, I could feel my blood start to boi, thinking “how could you say that?! Obviously you have no idea what your talking about.” THANK GOODNESS I didn’t respond with that reaction, because that would have done way more damage than good.
A little after that first knee jerk reaction, and my hot italian blood cooled I really felt an ache in my heart for them.
There was a true sadness because it was true that they really didn’t understand. They really didn’t “get it.” They didn’t get how incredible that love and relationship is, or how He’s rescued me or redeemed me, or dare I say-saved me through His bloodshed. Oh, how I yearn for them to fully know and realize its not a bunch of “hype” or “religion” but a true, authentic, and radical life to live – saved by grace as children of the UTMOST high King.