Obscurity

Lack of context gets me every time.

I saw something that I thought was awesome at the Friends University Library the other day. It perfectly fit into things that I've been learning about my relationship with God lately.

Specifically, it reminded me of a couple of verses in Philippians that I discussed in Bible study a few weeks ago.

"So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." - Philippians 2:12-13

I've been thinking a lot about these verses for the past two months, because it's one that most people don't understand when they read them at first. The key words, "work out" are what really stand out to me. It's as if God has given us these muscles of salvation and asks us only to use them. He is the one who is working within us. He is the one who makes us strong. We only need to trust that God is doing what He says he is doing. Part of trusting Him is being patient, and yielding to His will if it differs from our own. The wonderful part of this process is that as we grow closer to God, our wills mesh with His will for us.

Text reads: "Your part is to yield yourself; His part is to work."

So, naturally when I saw this calendar at the library circulation desk, I had to take a picture and post it to Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Yes, I'm a nerd. I'm a Jesus nerd.

Something so simple as a daily promise calendar can still stir up many little inklings of something greater. And this was not just a simple saying, but a convergence of all the things I have been learning lately through studying, talking with people and my quiet times with God. I was awe-struck to see all these thoughts combined in one sentence.

Unfortunately, it was also prime candidate for "Christianese." This is a language that Christians speak that is highly specific to what we assume other Christians have read and learned. But sometimes, Christians forget that other people don't speak Christianese.

A few days after I posted this picture, one of my non-Christian friends commented on it, asking what it meant. And frankly I still don't know how to respond. How do I explain how I believe God is working in my life when I'm not sure if my explanation will be understood?

Evangelists must have the hardest task of all Christians. They can't simply say whatever they're comfortable saying to other Christians. They must think through what the "uninitiated" would understand and speak to people where those people are rather than where they want them to be.

I really do want to reach people for Christ. But I think my true calling -- for now -- is to help other Christians learn what I've been learning. Perhaps later I will learn to break through the cloud of obscurity that is Christianese.