I met with a couple yesterday afternoon from one of our locations. He resides in England. She's moving to England. Welcome to Union Station.
She has a Christian background. He has a nominal Hindu background, is not yet a Christian and enjoys coming to New Life when he is in town. What a privilege to be able to point him toward some next steps in his journey toward redemption and life with Jesus and to give them some relationship counsel.
My counsel to him was:
- Read the Gospels. A lot. No substitute for first hand interaction with the life of Jesus. Also suggested buying an mp3 version like the Bible Experience.
- Look up an Alpha group when you get back home to London. Alpha is a great group for introducing the basics of Christianity to an interested seeker.
- Resist the temptation to overstate your spiritual progress to your girlfriend in order to keep her. Be gut-level honest at every step.
And to them was:
- Be sexually celibate.
- Get premarital counsel.
- Find a good church. And go each Sunday--listen to the truth and be impacted by community and worship.
- Don't pursue marriage if you're not both Christians.
One of the toughest parts of my job is to tell people what they may not want to hear. There is no escaping it though--truth always cuts against life and I deal with both daily. But I am convinced that truth can always be given with grace. My hope is that my responses are "seasoned with grace" and motivated by love.
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