What if ALL conversational roads could lead to Jesus?
In Love Like a Bride
One of the images I love from scripture is the image of the Bride. Jesus says that we are to be like a woman who is about to get married. I’ve been in 19 weddings. Without fail, the closer the wedding gets, the more the Bride loses her capacity to talk about anything else.
No one begrudges a woman in love for talking about the most important person in her life or the most important day in her future. Her mind is so consumed by him, that it really doesn’t matter where you start in conversation, ALL paths lead to the wedding.
What if I were more like that?
I’ve found that the more time I spend with Jesus, the more I talk about Him. Less because I think I should, and more because something He said last week cracked me up. Or the thing the person in front of me just said reminds me of something He told me or something we did together. It would be difficult for me to have much conversation with a friend who is married and has children without their spouse and kids coming up in conversation. It’s becoming pretty hard for people to talk to me without hearing about Jesus.
Sparking Spiritual Thirst
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been experimenting with using simple everyday questions as launching pads for spiritual conversations. At All Nations, we call those “salty statements” because they can spark spiritual thirst. I do this because Jesus is WONDERFUL. And He’s coming back! And He’s worth everything I have and everything that I am.
Some of these conversations might sound like:
How are you? This week has been nuts! I’m so grateful I could spend some time resting with Jesus this morning and soaking up His peace before I headed into the rest of the day. How about you?
I like your purse! Thanks! Jesus picked it out for me! I asked Him for a new one and the next week when I was at my friend’s house, she cocked her head and looked at me and said, “Hey, do you want any bags? I have a whole bunch downstairs!” Isn’t it fun?
Why did you move here? I’m on a wild adventure with Jesus.
How are you doing with the move away from your family? I really miss them. And, I’m so grateful for the way Jesus is introducing me to His family here and how some of them have loved me like family. I met one of my neighbors at the dollar tree and she’s become the kind of friend who would drive me to the airport at 4am!
Do you have kids? I haven’t given birth to any…so I told Abba that if there isn’t a little girl running around this world with my eyes and my smile, I’d like at least 5 million who carry my heart. It’s been fun to mother the ones He gives me to love. How about you?
How are you handling this Covid world? The past couple years have given me an opportunity to practice some of things I would have always told you I believed. Everyday I get to choose between making my decisions from love or fear. Have you felt that too?
Are you artistic? Nope. But I’ve been practicing an art form where I illustrate stories of Jesus with stick figures and simple symbols. Would you like to see the story I’ve been working on? (Check out a longer story with this conversation starter here!)
Salty Statements
Ideally a “salty statement” is:
- SHORT—a sentence or three that actually answers the question and isn’t preachy.
- Points to Jesus or in some obvious (but not obnoxious!) way communicates that I am someone who would be open to spiritual conversation.
- Doesn’t shift the focus of a conversation to fixing me or my problem.
- Opens up a conversation, giving the other person opportunity to respond and lean in if they want to.
Jesus is irresistible. His name is like an intoxicating fragrance. No wonder young women love Him (Song of Songs 1:3)! No wonder His Bride can’t think or talk about anyone or anything else!
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Written by an All Nations Hub Team Member
Join us for an upcoming training on salty statements called Jesus on the Everyday Road (free, online, in July 2024)! If the date has passed, you can also sign up for the recording!
Crafting salty statements is also part of our training on Storytelling, Catalyze and People of Peace.We’d love to have you join us sometime for any of those trainings, or consider joining us for CPx, which includes both Catalyze and the Storytelling Workshop. We hope you are inspired to thoughtfully bring Jesus into your everyday conversations!
