Relevance
The parable of the lost kitten?
When you have to change a tire on the side of the highway, it would be very frustrating to find the wrong size lug nut wrench in your trunk. And you know a nine-volt battery will not work in your cell phone. It would be annoying to eat spaghetti with just a spoon. The problem in all of these scenarios is an issue in relevance; this is something you must understand if you want to know how to communicate the truth to others. Spoons, nine-volt batteries, and 15mm wrenches all have a purpose but only for certain applications.
In the Kingdom of God, we must be relevant. The Word of God carries powerful guidance for life in our contemporary world. The role of God’s servants is to help people apply such divine instruction to their job challenges, moral controversies in our society, marital issues, child-raising, and of course the most important topics of knowing who God is and how to have a home with Him forever.
So heavenly minded
Handing out Bibles will not change the world. Your job, fellow believer, is to understand the Bible yourself and expound it in such a way that it changes lives. Some Christians are so full of Bible knowledge that they can talk at length about Melchizedek, the four horsemen, and the meaning of Palm Sunday but never win someone to the truth. Their much learning does not equate to much results because they are irrelevant.
Charles Spurgeon said, “I know a minister whose shoe lachet I am unworthy to unloose, whose preaching is often little better than a sacred miniature painting. I might almost say holy trifling. He is great upon the ten toes of the beast, the four faces of the cherubim, and the mystical meaning of badgers’ skins; but the sins of the businessmen, the temptations of the times, and the needs of the age, he scarcely ever touches upon. Such preaching reminds me of a lion engaged in mouse-hunting.”
Speaking of Spurgeon, some young preachers would love to be as influential as he was. However, the man made history because he knew what was relevant to his people and time. Do you?
Of no earthly good
We live in an age where people are arguing about which bathroom to use or whether it is better to terminate elderly people rather than let them suffer on life support. Drugs, divorce, and terror threats are on people’s minds today. To speak of biblical matters yet never address life issues today is to be irrelevant—of no earthly good to society.
Many churches are so focused on their building funds and 5-year projected goals that they overlook the needy in their community or fail to educate their people on the causes they should be praying about, voting down, or investing their efforts in. God became flesh and walked our dirty streets—He participated in things of this earth. He told stories that related to the earth-bound individuals He encountered: sheep, plants, and food preparation.
So earthly minded
Being a part of this earth did not mean Jesus was a part of the world. He may have been earthy but He was not worldly. Too many churches try too hard to be earthly and thus become worldly. Those believers fit in so well with the world that you could not pick them out of the crowd.
They become so relevant that they lose their message. They do not just join humanity in life experiences but they become mired in the same music, movies, and other influences as the world. Pretty soon, they become mired in the same experiences, divorce, anger, rebellion, immorality, and so on. They think, “I can help the world because I can relate.” Unfortunately, they jumped into the pit with everyone else forgetting to bring a rope to help everyone climb out. Hence, unholy churches are full of as much sin as any bar in town.
Of no heavenly good
The world needs hope. They need a way out. First, you need the content. Once you are clear on the message, you find relevant ways to present it to the people.
Like a rescue mission, you have to have the map to lead the people out. Then, you go to where they are and lead them out.
College courses are required to help students with cognitive development. A college grad should be able to look at one situation, reason from it, and apply the same principles to another situation. It is alarming how many people today have never developed the skill to assess a situation and apply meaning from it that works in other situations, too.
How to communicate truth to others
For example, Jesus told how a shepherd went looking for a lost sheep to bring it back into the flock. This resonated with people of His time. However, many people today do not understand the dynamic of this story. You could spend 20 minutes with a person trying to explain to him the role of a shepherd and the value of sheep so that you can ultimately inform him of how much God loves him. Instead, cognitive thinking looks at the story Jesus told and uses a similar idea to help the listener arrive at the same conclusion. You might get the same effect across to a child by telling about a cat that went astray. The owner loved her cats so much, but she was willing to leave all of the new kittens at home while she went looking for the one that went wandering outside and had not come in as the sun was setting. When she found the stray kitten, she rejoiced so much she threw a little party and invited her friends over. A child could feel the love of God in that story without ever having to study first century farming.
A child of God must be a student of scripture. It is very useful to cross-reference verses, study the Greek, or reference a scholarly work on obscure passages of Scripture. Next one takes the meaning gained from that time of study to share it in a way that others can digest: pictures and stories. If you went to serve a cake, it would not make it taste better for you to show off the bowls and beaters to your guests. All of that stays in the kitchen. So, when you share the Message of Jesus Christ, don’t bore people with details of all your study. Serve them the full flavor of Truth in a way they absorb it.
Content and relevance are how to communicate truth to others!