Evangelism

Question: Rayson, you speak of being active and not passive. And I've been trying to do that recently when I find opportunities to speak of my faith in conversation with friends and without, well, proselytizing - without being overly preachy, I've tried to open doors when I can. And something happened recently with a friend. I felt a lot of resistance, and a feeling from her that she wanted to intellectually argue. I felt the need to protect my own faith - not that she could convince me otherwise - but just that it was disheartening to come up against that skepticism. And rather than continue the conversation, I feel that maybe I shouldn't even discuss faith with her any more. Am I being a coward? Am I being passive? Or is it sometimes a good idea to back off from a person whose skepticism seems stronger than their inclination toward faith?

Answer: Our master did not allow himself, when he resided here as Jesus, to be drawn into useless debate and argument. Words are wonderful tools for communication among humans. However your life is much more effective - a much more effective argument for the role of faith. When words fail, your living experience as a faith filled daughter will not. Others are drawn to you because of who you are, based on the bedrock of your faith.

Do not descend into arguing the point. Only negative things will come from that: divisiveness, differences, polarization. Rather stress the commonality. Love, it is hard to resist love. And shine through this (easily?) and in many ways you are unaware of your love. Others are not, and wish to be close to you.

So, you are not a coward. It is wise to drop talk, which divides friends. Ask questions and leave your lower associate to the feel of social growth, like your questions, that will not threaten the intellectual defense.

Question: In other words, ask questions that I still have?

Answer: No. Ask questions to teach this being. Ask questions about..

Question: What they believe?

Answer: No. What they need to get them through disappointment. Or sadness. Or, when they feel joyful,
what does that feel to them? How does that affect their lives? Those kinds of questions where you are the student - but really you are the teacher. 

Tomas: I see a picture here of an amusement park and in the amusement park there is a game of strength where the player picks up the mallet and smashes hard on the weight and in his thrust a gauge rises which indicates the intensity of the impact. In some cases it rises all the way to the top and rings the bell. In this feat we see his strength, his accomplishment. Many times when you seek to preach the gospel you are like the strongman who wants to hear the bell ring when in truth the entire procedure is far more like a dance.

Both you and that mortal you would minister to are the feminine figures who follow the lead of the male, the male being the Indwelling Spirit. They know what they want to accomplish. You want to help them accomplish their purpose, thus there is a certain amount of graciousness and even seduction involved.

It's a conscious cooperation with something that has more direction than you can realize; you just follow.  The fact that you are a willing participant, that you put yourself in the arms of the lord of the dance is an indication that you will step when he steps, dip when he dips, spin when he spins. He will see this appropriate pattern emerge when he consults with the lord of the dance of your friend, the other mortal participant in this game of give and take; for in the game of give and take, that is, the gospel, the dignity of the mortal must be upheld, and his intelligence needs to be upheld, and his experiences need to be validated. His perception needs to be honored.

It's a problem in administering the goals of evangelism when you have so much previous conditioning to go by. What counts in the spirit world is often not what works in the material world. This is why you are cautioned against attempting to coerce or overwhelm with logic. For example using shorter sentences can also be a useful part of the dance. It is necessary that we dance at the same time. In this there is harmony.

In the end it is still true; the bell will ring, but the ring of truth will come in the form of the revelation that has been fostered by the power and strength of that divine spark that lies within.

I will add that it is true that culturally the men often have a hard time putting themselves in a position of allowing someone else to lead. It's just not part of your composition to allow yourself to be submissive or
adaptable as is necessary in order to be a fluid font for others. In my gender remarks it is only fair for me to remark that women who have learned how to lead often lose a certain quality of grace that is an essential aspect of a child of God. These matters will be resolved in time, and they are not insuperable difficulties, just observations on my part.

Elyon: It is admirable that many are motivated toward evangelism, the desire to help another realize the importance of the relationship with God. However, I would hope to see as the years progress that this
evangelistic approach would adopt the attitude that the one being sought evangelically is already considered one of the family of God, not to be coerced, scared, or enticed into becoming a member of the family, but rather that it is revealed that they already are, that trust and faith are all that lack. Every child who grows up in a healthy family already knows they belong, and this is true throughout the universe.