Last week we looked at Part 1 of two posts on “Using Relationship Principles For Powerful Evangelism” We went through the attitudes towards relationships that many unbelievers have. Since many of these attitudes are compatible with Christianity we see that they are point of connection that we can bring up with our unsaved friends. Last week we started a sample talk that someone could give on the subject of relationships. (If talking one-on-one obviously it should include more questions and be more interactive.) We focused on attitudes that seekers might have. Today we continue that talk with an explanation of how those attitudes fit with Christianity.
“In the same way that you know that a loving and respectful relationship with your friend is a good thing maybe it is also a good thing to have a loving and respectful relationship with God. Perhaps there is a parallel between the two. Maybe good human relationships are a reflection of a good relationship with God!
Is it possible that just as your human relationship brings you well-being so also a healthy relationship with God brings you well-being? And maybe it brings you much greater well-being than a human relationship can, since your relationship is with an infinite and loving God.
Your human relationship brings security, peace, positive self-image, and joy to each of your lives. Is it possible that your relationship with God brings these same things to your life, but on a much deeper level? Perhaps the benefits from God can fulfill you at a level that no human relationship can. Maybe that is why even if we have good friends we still sense that there is something missing deeper inside us.
And perhaps the way we interact with in a human relationship gives us clues to a divine relationship. For example, just as there is no force in your human relationship so also there is no force in a divine relationship. God doesn’t want to make you love and follow him; he wants you to choose freely. And you can’t force God to love you; he already loves you and you can rest in the confidence that he desires you.
And just as your human relationship depends on accepting one another with their faults, so also your divine relationship is grounded in the truth that God knows all your faults and yet still wants to be close friends with you. And even though God doesn’t have faults you do need to accept God with all the challenging and mystifying ways that he operates. If you keep rejecting his ways then you are cutting off your relationship with him just as you would if you did this in a human relationship.
And is it possible that some of the other traits in your human relationship also apply to a healthy relationship with God? We see that Jesus taught that in our relationship with our heavenly Father provides patience, listening, consistent kindness, dependability, humility, and sacrifice? We value these in our human relationships. How much more would we value them in a divine relationship?
And consider the importance of honesty. Like a good human relationship God will always be honest with you, but he will express it in a way to help you, not to condemn you. Likewise, you can be completely honest with God knowing that it is what he wants and that he honors honesty.
Similar to this is the importance of trust in your relationship. In fact, trust is the beginning of your relationship with God. When you place your faith in the Son of God by offering your life to him this opens the door to a real relationship with God. Then you continue to trust him and believe that he has your best interests in mind. We find the same thing in our human relationships.
Forgiveness is also key in our divine relationship. Just as you want your human friend to forgive your faults so also you want God to forgive your faults. And he makes this easy; he only asks that you admit your fault to him and turn away from your destructive way.
This leads to the issue of closing your heart against God. If you keep doing things to hurt and reject a human friend then pretty soon they will not be able to have a good relationship with you. There will be a kind of separation. Likewise, if you keep doing things to disrespect and reject God then he will not be able to have a good relationship with you. But that was your decision. Yet he still loves you. Now he waits for you to return to him. He still wants to give you a divine relationship that far exceeds all the good you can find in your human relationships.”
