Trust the Process
A Jewish friend who became a Christian told this story.
He was raised in the Southern California home of upper middle class non-observant Jews. They appreciated their culture and history. They were very clear that Jews are a distinct and unique people, and that it is best to stay within the safe environment of the Jewish community. Gentiles are, sooner or later, going to give you grief.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book, To Life!, observed that Christians are Christians by choice, while a Jew is a Jew by birth. A Jew will always be a Jew in the eyes of other Jews, even if he or she converts to another faith. When my friend started dating a Christian girl, he got a lot of pressure from his family to back away from the relationship.
The young woman was a very active member of a church we would describe as “a congregation of enthusiasts.” She did not pressure him to attend church with her, knowing that this highly demonstrative group of worshippers would probably terrify him. His growing love for her combined with his natural curiosity made him wonder about the basis of her beliefs. He asked questions, and while she was not deeply trained in the scriptures, she suggested that he read the Old Testament prophets.
For more than two years, he pored over the major and minor prophets, asking questions of rabbis in his acquaintance, of his girl friend, and of Christian ministers he met with her help. They married while he was still in the process of this self-directed study, much to the consternation of both families. To reduce the level of potential tension, they drove to Las Vegas with the few family members and friends who approved, and got married in one of those rent-a-preacher chapels, complete with recorded music and a cheap, sugary wedding cake.
After the wedding, he continued his study. She continued to attend her church faithfully, putting no pressure on him to join her, and patiently listening to his penetrating questions, answering them when she could, and helping him find the answers when she couldn’t. She never preached to him; she prayed for him and trusted the divine process.
He eventually reached the conclusion, as a result of his absorption of the prophetic writings, largely guided, he says, by the Holy Spirit, he accepted the fact that the Old Testament prophets were talking about the Messiah – Jesus, the Christ.
We all came to the faith along different paths. There is no single process that works with everyone. The Holy Spirit, like a great wind, blows where it will. Our task is to love, and pray for, the seekers in our lives – and to answer their questions when we can, and help them find the answers when we cannot. The Holy Spirit is in charge of the process. Trust the process.
He was raised in the Southern California home of upper middle class non-observant Jews. They appreciated their culture and history. They were very clear that Jews are a distinct and unique people, and that it is best to stay within the safe environment of the Jewish community. Gentiles are, sooner or later, going to give you grief.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book, To Life!, observed that Christians are Christians by choice, while a Jew is a Jew by birth. A Jew will always be a Jew in the eyes of other Jews, even if he or she converts to another faith. When my friend started dating a Christian girl, he got a lot of pressure from his family to back away from the relationship.
The young woman was a very active member of a church we would describe as “a congregation of enthusiasts.” She did not pressure him to attend church with her, knowing that this highly demonstrative group of worshippers would probably terrify him. His growing love for her combined with his natural curiosity made him wonder about the basis of her beliefs. He asked questions, and while she was not deeply trained in the scriptures, she suggested that he read the Old Testament prophets.
For more than two years, he pored over the major and minor prophets, asking questions of rabbis in his acquaintance, of his girl friend, and of Christian ministers he met with her help. They married while he was still in the process of this self-directed study, much to the consternation of both families. To reduce the level of potential tension, they drove to Las Vegas with the few family members and friends who approved, and got married in one of those rent-a-preacher chapels, complete with recorded music and a cheap, sugary wedding cake.
After the wedding, he continued his study. She continued to attend her church faithfully, putting no pressure on him to join her, and patiently listening to his penetrating questions, answering them when she could, and helping him find the answers when she couldn’t. She never preached to him; she prayed for him and trusted the divine process.
He eventually reached the conclusion, as a result of his absorption of the prophetic writings, largely guided, he says, by the Holy Spirit, he accepted the fact that the Old Testament prophets were talking about the Messiah – Jesus, the Christ.
We all came to the faith along different paths. There is no single process that works with everyone. The Holy Spirit, like a great wind, blows where it will. Our task is to love, and pray for, the seekers in our lives – and to answer their questions when we can, and help them find the answers when we cannot. The Holy Spirit is in charge of the process. Trust the process.