Leaving It

Yesterday's post was interrupted by the loss of our electricity for an afternoon. I was about halfway through typing "Leave It!" with the explanation of leaving a person alone after they had made it clear they had no interest in hearing any more about Jesus, Christianity, churches, and their salvation was in their hands, not my words. For those of you who read yesterday's blog - it didn't turnout like that at all. Not one of the scriptures I had in mind - such as:

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. (Matthew 10:14)

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. (Mark 6:11)

And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. (Luke 9:5)

I have left online discussions by stating that we had obviously reached an impass, a point that neither one of us would change our mind. On my side, I had quoted scripture that the other person would not accept as an answer. Often it would be one of the above verses. 

When discussing religion, biblical scripture in context (and in conjunction with Scripture written later) is my reference. For some people, such scripture is not inspired by God. For some others, fulfillment of scripture is open to a wide variety of interpretation plus is required for salvation. Nope - not going into specific cases here. 

I did write "I believe we've both stated our cases and best we shake dust and end the discussion." I would venture to say that the person on the receiving did the same thing without writing it out. 

When Christians speak out their differences, some never walk away, wanting to be convincing in their interpretation. I do not see that as constructive or helpful in reaching those seeking information. I have had informative and helpful discussions with co-workers - atheist, Catholic, Confucianism, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Wiccan. I must admit, that last one seemed to be in a rebellion against a Christian upbringing rather than a firm believing Wiccan. 

On each of the above cases, even when my beliefs were deemed incorrect, I did not mention shaking dust because we never mentioned the question I so often use when ending my blog posts: What is your decision about where eternity is spent? 

I am very clear that scripture gives the requirement that we believe Jesus is the Son of God, we are to be faithful to Him in order to receive God's grace, with that grace through faith comes eternal life with Him. That's the bottom line.

When that happens, we'll want to share that joy that occurs in heaven right here and now, with anyone who will listen. We want to learn more, spend time with His word, learn from history and prophecy, and see it applied in our lives. There's also a desire to associate with other believers. We'll be with them through eternity. 

No shaking dust from sandals once we have a discussion that continues to state the gospel and it is heard.