As we allow ourselves to care, God provides all the right questions. You see if you care, you will ask questions rather than just give “The schpeal”
One night I was online. And as is my custom, I stopped by a Christian chat room to watch all the Christians talk among themselves. I found a young man cursing and swearing at the Christians in this particular chat room. Their response was to threaten him, quote scriptures at him and tell him what a terrible sinner he was. But not one asked him why he was hurting so deeply that he felt he needed to curse God and his believers. So I asked him why he did this. (this is an actual excerpt from the conversation.)
Me - "May I ask why you come to a Christian site to attack believers?"
Boy - “Because I like to.”
Me - “Only Christians?”
Boy - “Yeah, so what?”
Me - “Just wondering. Have you ever wondered why you target only Christians?”
Boy - “I never thought about it”
Me - “Why do you think it is so?”
Boy - “Because I hate God”
Me - “hmm, and why do you hate God so much?”
Boy – “Because he took my parents from me”
Me – “If I’m not prying too much, may I ask what happened?”
Boy – “Car wreck on their way to church.”
Me – “I’m so sorry that happened. How old were you at the time?”
Boy – “5”
Me – “That must have been very painful and confusing for you. And how long ago was that?”
Boy – “Eleven years”
Me – “I can see as a five year old how you would come to the conclusion that God took them. But is it possible that as a 16 year old you can look back and re-evaluate the conclusion of a 5 year old?”
Boy – “Whadaya mean?”
Me – “Well, It happened as they were going to church. To a five year old, that’s God’s territory. It had to be God’s fault. But at 16 you are old enough to examine the conclusions you made as a 5 year old and ask yourself if it is true. Bad things happen to good people all the time. They happen while people travel to church or to the hospital or to school. But in the midst of these things happening, there is one truth. God loves you and cares for you. He is a good and perfect father.”
Boy – “Why don’t you just shut up and leave me alone. Just leave me alone.”
I wish I could say this young man changed his mind. But one thing did happen. Because I took the time to ask questions, he knew that I cared. Even if his mind didn’t like it, his heart knew it. And by the time I told him that God loved him, I was a credible person in his eyes. What gave me that credibility? Simply that I cared enough to ask questions. If I don’t take the time to establish that I care, how can I expect him to believe me when I tell him God cares.
I may never know the outcome but I know his heart was pierced by the Holy Spirit. How? Because he changed in an instant from the aggressor / attacker / tough guy to scared and defensive… “why don’t you leave me alone”. Do you see the significance of that statement? This boy who came to the chat room to attack Christians and curse God, was now afraid to examine his own heart. He was afraid that the love of God might somehow get in. He cut off our conversation because his heart was in danger of being exposed. And that’s OK. It’s a beginning. It is the planting of a seed. It is planted into soil that has been prepared just a bit.
Exposing our heart is a good thing. It’s scary and sometimes fills us with anxiety. It is the thing we protect the hardest, build walls around… refuse to let anyone in.
The possibility of opening our heart requires courage.
