Paul, in his declaration of Jesus’ being alive after death, was thought to be insane. This is not surprising, many of our friends and acquaintances sincerely believe we’re nuts for believing Jesus is alive without seeing any physical proof for ourselves. This didn’t discourage Paul from doing what the living Christ told him to do and it shouldn’t deter us from our obedience in faith to Jesus either.
Are you having wild conversations with others during this series? If not, begin today. You’re not going to be very comfortable your first time, but like everything else, you do get more and more comfortable as you practice it. As you do, you’ll notice in the natural world, people want to put you on the defensive, in other words, they want you to “prove your case”. Don’t get tangled up in this tactic. Instead, use the logic they’re familiar with as a great opportunity to get them to contemplate and internalize how they would defend their own belief. And, good questions almost always work better than any answer you could give when someone already thinks you’re crazy.
Do you believe there’s oxygen in this room? Why? Can you see it? Can you smell it? Can you feel it? The obvious answer to the follow-up questions is “No”. Nevertheless, we see the evidence of the existence of oxygen all around us. Next, move beyond ice breakers to questions about the existence or non-existence of God and ask the basis of their belief (evidence, hearsay…). Whether or not they answer your questions, the seeds have already been planted for thought. And, the ultimate goal of your wild conversations is to ask whether they believe believe Jesus rose from the dead, because the whole of Jesus’ Gospel rests on this event. Do you believe the guards would have let the disciples take Jesus’ body when the penalty for dereliction of duty was death? The evidence that you’re not insane may be found in your lucid questions.
When attempts to put Jesus on the defensive came in the form of questions, Jesus answered with good questions.
Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” Matthew 22:17-20 NIV
