Some quick thoughts for a Tuesday…
1) Vote for Pablo. He hit a grand slam in the Giants win over Florida last night, batting .332 with a .572 slugging percentage, 13 HR, 48 RBI. Let’s send 3 Giants to the All Star Game in St. Louis next week. Voting button below.
2) My discipleship group met at a local Starbucks last Friday morning. We decided to leave a $50 gift card at the counter to pay for coffee for other customers, along with cards which said, “Have a drink on us” with our church’s contact info on the reverse side. Throughout the 2 hours we were there, several folks came up to us saying, “Cheers, thanks for the coffee.”
3) Just curious – if you are a Christian, do you find it easier to relate to someone of another faith or is it easier to relate to someone with little to no faith? If you do, is it because someone of another faith (Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc.) at least believes in something other than the material world, and it becomes a starting point for discussion?
Have a good Tuesday.
Regarding #3, I don’t know that faith or lack of faith is what makes it easy or hard for me to relate to people. If I can get to know them as a 3-dimensional person, if I like them and respect them, I want to understand their views whatever they may be. Hopefully, I earn the right to share my views in the process.
Honestly, though, it’s hard to get to that level with most people I know, Christian or not.
By: David Lamb on July 9, 2009
at 1:26 pm
I would say little or to no faith simply because I need to become more educated on other belief systems out there. I can scratch the surface on most of them. I feel it’s easier to start from 0 and introduce Christ that way if a relationship has been built with them. I also believe God calls us to initiate however with people we don’t have a relationship built with as well.
By: samanthakrieger on August 10, 2009
at 12:48 pm
Dave, I concur with you – it can be difficult. I think we simply need to be intentional.
Samantha – I think that’s a fair comment, although I wonder if it is easy to relate to a person of another faith because they have an understanding of what faith is. Certainly I’ve had an easier time speaking of the general concept of faith with Jewish folks (and to a lesser extent, a Buddhist) as opposed to someone with little to no faith. That said, it’s all about being sensitive to whatever door God opens, regardless of the faith (or lack thereof) of the individual!
By: Andy on August 11, 2009
at 12:34 pm