Bible Study
My first memory of Amy was when she was 11 and the police walked into the Work Force office, asked for her and then took her away. She is now 21 and I have gotten to know her well. For the last 8 months or so, she and I have been studying the book of Matthew. Here are how some of our conversations have gone.
We had been discussing what it meant to be salt and light to those around us. She said that all her friends knew she was a Christian and met me for Bible study regularly. In the course of the conversation, I invited her to come to our youth church service but she said she was still too drunk after a weekend of partying to come on Sundays. I asked her, “Ya know, if you are suppose to be like a light or salt to your friends, I wonder if they find it confusing when you often get drunk?” She thought about it a moment and said, “Ya eh? I never thought of that before.” A little light went on.
When we got to the part about adultery and divorce, I realized that these two concepts were foreign to her. Very few people in her world marry. They live together for a while, or just have fleeting relationships. As I shared with her what God’s idea of marriage was and what a committed relationship looks like and what it means to work at staying in the relationship forever, she again said, “Ya eh? That sounds really good.” Another little light went on.
We have a series of questions that we answer with each section of scripture that we read. One of the questions is, what do you like about this passage? As I was trying to explain the meaning of “an eye for an eye”, and the part where it says, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”, I asked her what she liked about this passage. She replied the part where it says you can hit someone. No light went on there!
I knew when we got to the part of scripture that talks about loving your enemies, we would have an interesting discussion as in the past Amy had many enemies. She was a real scrapper and would take on anybody and rarely lost. As she thought of her enemies, she said that she could probably like them, but not love them. I told her about a time when I was very angry with someone and how, when I let go of what he owed me, which was an apology, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off me and it felt really good. She said that when she punched someone, that felt really good! But as she continued to talk about it, she decided that no, she wouldn’t even want to talk to her enemies because they had been so two-faced. I don’t care what He says.” I asked her why she thought Jesus wanted us to love our enemies instead of fight them. She said she didn’t know. So in her prayer journal that day, she asked Jesus to show her why He wanted this. I told her to keep her eyes open for His answer.
I believe a little light went on in Amy even in this discussion. She has changed over the years; from wanting God but not willing to make any changes in her life, to the present where she is willing to consider what He has to say and a growing desire to honour Jesus in her life. She is beginning to understand why the changes are needed and is taking little steps to implement them in her life. She still has a very long road to travel, but at least now she is on the journey. I see the Lord at work in her life, wooing her to Him. It is such a privilege to be part of God’s plan for her.
My first memory of Amy was when she was 11 and the police walked into the Work Force office, asked for her and then took her away. She is now 21 and I have gotten to know her well. For the last 8 months or so, she and I have been studying the book of Matthew. Here are how some of our conversations have gone.
We had been discussing what it meant to be salt and light to those around us. She said that all her friends knew she was a Christian and met me for Bible study regularly. In the course of the conversation, I invited her to come to our youth church service but she said she was still too drunk after a weekend of partying to come on Sundays. I asked her, “Ya know, if you are suppose to be like a light or salt to your friends, I wonder if they find it confusing when you often get drunk?” She thought about it a moment and said, “Ya eh? I never thought of that before.” A little light went on.
When we got to the part about adultery and divorce, I realized that these two concepts were foreign to her. Very few people in her world marry. They live together for a while, or just have fleeting relationships. As I shared with her what God’s idea of marriage was and what a committed relationship looks like and what it means to work at staying in the relationship forever, she again said, “Ya eh? That sounds really good.” Another little light went on.
We have a series of questions that we answer with each section of scripture that we read. One of the questions is, what do you like about this passage? As I was trying to explain the meaning of “an eye for an eye”, and the part where it says, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”, I asked her what she liked about this passage. She replied the part where it says you can hit someone. No light went on there!
I knew when we got to the part of scripture that talks about loving your enemies, we would have an interesting discussion as in the past Amy had many enemies. She was a real scrapper and would take on anybody and rarely lost. As she thought of her enemies, she said that she could probably like them, but not love them. I told her about a time when I was very angry with someone and how, when I let go of what he owed me, which was an apology, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off me and it felt really good. She said that when she punched someone, that felt really good! But as she continued to talk about it, she decided that no, she wouldn’t even want to talk to her enemies because they had been so two-faced. I don’t care what He says.” I asked her why she thought Jesus wanted us to love our enemies instead of fight them. She said she didn’t know. So in her prayer journal that day, she asked Jesus to show her why He wanted this. I told her to keep her eyes open for His answer.
I believe a little light went on in Amy even in this discussion. She has changed over the years; from wanting God but not willing to make any changes in her life, to the present where she is willing to consider what He has to say and a growing desire to honour Jesus in her life. She is beginning to understand why the changes are needed and is taking little steps to implement them in her life. She still has a very long road to travel, but at least now she is on the journey. I see the Lord at work in her life, wooing her to Him. It is such a privilege to be part of God’s plan for her.