Chocolate Meringue or Lemon Meringue?

I went to lunch with a few friends at a barbeque restaurant nearby. The food was good, the service was friendly, and the conversation was fun and lively. As the meal progressed, one of the peopel eating with me realized they had a "random connection" with our waitress through a brother that taught at the high school she attended, so we used that for a series of jokes and jabs. After we finished our meal, the waitress came up and asked us if we wanted any desserts... we politely replied "no thanks." She replied by describing the chocolate meringue and lemon meringue pies with details that almost had us convinced... but we resisted anyway. Then, with sincerity (and a little salesmanship) the waitress asked a unique question: "What is that hasn't convinced you yet?" The question was simple, unassuming, and appropriately phrased given the relationship we had developed with her during the previous hour. And, with that question, one member of our party said that he simply didn't have room for a piece today, but he would get one the next time he came. And, with that, she wished us a good day and we left.



Contrast that situation with the rants that Christians sometimes get on about certain issues or the fights we get in with certain people, and it becomes easy to see why the "Good News" about Jesus is often misunderstood or simply rejected. Persuasion is pretty easy... convincing someone to believe or act a certain way can be accomplished in many ways... withold basic necessities of life... threaten greater harm... use force... take advantage of "positional authority"... lie... embellish... or any other of a thousand different methods. But persuasion that isn't pushy is a rare thing. Persuasion based on a relationship that leads to a perfectly-phrased and perfectly-timed question is the key to a lot of situations.



We want people to choose to become Christ followers. Sometimes that journey takes a long time for a person. But, that's okay. We will continue to see people as people (instead of the next notch in our belt). We will continue to provide a place for them to explore faith at their own speed. We will continue to build friendships with them because we understand how important it can be to know the people you journey with. And, along the way, we will ask them questions (like "what is it that hasn't convinced you yet?"), listen to their answers, listen to their questions, and answer them as best we can. Then, if they are still not convinced, we will wish them a good day, and be available when they continue their spiritual pursuit in the future. It seems like "persuasion," but it's actually something else... it's persuasive compassion.