No experience is allowed us without reason. God always has something to teach us. And thus it was, as described in “Surprising Things I Learned in China, Part 1“, I learned that I can be a much more effective witness by simply learning the cultural and religious background of the ones I hope to witness to!
The next huge surprise to me was this: I actually love Chinese food!
Why should that be a surprise?
Well, other than the meals prepared for me by my daughter-in-law (DIL) and the pair of Chinese students who have befriended me, I had never had authentic Chinese food! Oh, I’ve also eaten in Chinese restaurants, but I hadn’t particularly liked the food! Besides, I had been warned that people don’t generally eat their veggies raw in China. I LOVE my salads! how would I survive! And since preconceived ideas can run deep, even though I did enjoy the food prepared for me by the above three, I assumed I probably wouldn’t like the majority of the food. It also didn’t help that because I am vegetarian and have a dairy allergy and a gluten intolerance, my three “advisors” weren’t sure I’d find much that I actually could eat!
How wrong I was.,.
I attribute much of this to my DIL. We would sit down in a restaurant and she would jabber away with the server, who would disappear into the kitchen and reappear to jabber back at her. Then 3-5 dishes would miraculously appear in front of me. Each one unique, each one flavorful, each one absolutely delicious!
It’s true that I was hesitant about certain things, like hot soy milk, cooked lettuce, and mixing pickled vegetables with my congee (a popular breakfast dish that resembled thin cooked cereal). Nonetheless, I tried everything, and it wasn’t long before I was diving into “strange” new dishes with anticipation.
In the end, I didn’t miss western food. Not even the salads, and the entire time I was away, in spite of the fact that I was eating all new foods, my sensitive gut didn’t act up even once! That is unheard of for me on a trip!
So wherein lies our lesson on witnessing?
This all helps me to understand why so many who hear the gospel message reject it…
First of all, we have to understand where any previous contact with the gospel may have come from! In the same way Canadian Chinese restaurants tend to not serve authentic Chinese food, much of what people believe they know about the gospel may not actually be based on “authentic” Christianity!
Consider that Chinese restaurant owners in Canada prepare food that they think Canadians will like. Don’t we, as Christians, do the same? Don’t we pick and choose what we do and say around our non-Christian friends, hoping that what we’ve “picked” and “chosen” will be pleasing to them? What if the little bits of Christianity we show those around us are as far from the real thing as most Canadian Chinese restaurants?
Picking and choosing what we share isn’t all bad, however. Remember that my DIL did a lot of “picking” and “choosing”. The difference is, she knows me! In the same way, when we witness to our non-Christian friends, we need to try to understand their backgrounds, their previous knowledge of Christianity, even their pre-conceived ideas!
But that’s not enough. Remember that my DIL knows Chinese and she consulted with the restaurant staff before ordering for me! In the same way, we need to be able to communicate with God! We need to be in touch with His Holy Spirit, we need to consult with Him on the best ways to approach witnessing and the best words and experiences to use.
Is this sounding a lot like last Saturday’s devotional?
Well you know what they say about when God repeats Himself!
But there’s more to my Chinese food surprise. You see, none of my DIL’s efforts would have had any effect at all if I hadn’t been willing to at least try the food that was placed before me. We can’t force people to try the gospel, but just like my DIL offered me food that she knew I would like, we must never cease to “offer” the gospel and invite our non-Christian friends to: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalms 34:8 NASB)! By our lives we need to show them how blessed we are for taking refuge in Him! And perhaps I need to add to this, we need to ensure that we do take refuge in Him!
Let’s remember the story of Philip. After being called by Jesus, the first thing he did was to go and find his friend, Nathanael: “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” (John 1:45b NASB). Unfortunately, Nathanael wasn’t quite as enthused: “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” (John 1:45b NASB). We could learn so many lessons from Philip’s response: “Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’” (John 45c NASB).
Come and see! We can do our best to present the gospel in the best possible light, but there is nothing we can do to change hearts. That’s the job of God’s Spirit. Sometimes our best bet is to stop preaching and to simply present the invitation: “Come and see”!
Yes, I now know that I LOVE Chinese food. What about your non-Christian friends and neighbors, co-workers and school-mates? Prepare yourself. Get to know their background. Speak to God, consult with His Spirit, and then be prepared to simply invite your friends to “come and see”!
Please join us next Saturday to see how another major surprise will help us with our witness!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
(To access the entire “Surprising Things I Learned in China” mini-series, please click here!)
