John 3:11-17

“If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?”

Nicodemus didn’t get it, and there were no words to explain what he was missing. Sometimes that’s how it is when we try to share our deepest feelings and ideas with a curious questioner. We can know something so intimately in our hearts but when we try to share that truth all the words we choose seem inadequate. Instead of getting an understanding nod, all we get is a blank stare. It is as though we are speaking a foreign language! It’s frustrating!

Generally this happens because these things we hold in our souls didn’t get there from reading a book or even listening to a podcast. Rather they’ve been planted by the Holy Spirit and are absolutely unique to our own perspective and background. We don’t choose to believe as we do, it’s something that happens in us over a lifetime. And rather than despair about not being able to explain it, perhaps we only need recognize that the same Spirit who has molded our being is at work in the life of the other. God is not powerless in touching our hearts, and the results will not be the same in all. 

And sometimes, and this is the humbling part, the person we’re trying to convince of our truth, already possesses a deeply satisfying truth of their own. Ultimately, sharing our faith is not so much a matter of convincing the other as it is listening to them. 

Thought for the Day: Times when sharing brings frustration.