An Invitation to Spiritual Conversation

Scripture – Acts 8:32-35: ³²The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ³³In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” ³⁴The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

Reflection: – It’s my experience that people open the door to spiritual conversation more often than most of us notice. It may be a reference to illness or death. Or they’ve seen something on the news (the recent shootings in Tennessee, for example). Or they have a question about something they don’t understand in life. And sometimes their question is as clear as the one asked by this man in verse 34.

I’ve found a couple things are very important in this process. One is that I pay attention. People seldom open the door to spiritual conversation as wide as this man did to Philip. More often they crack it open a little to see if I’m paying attention and/or to see if it’s safe to talk about something. If I’m paying attention, my response can encourage them to open up a little more. Or I can let them know I’m not interested. Then they can close the door without any great risk to themselves. And, of course, the opportunity is lost.

Another important thing is that I’m ready to go with whatever they want to talk about. I’ll let them go as deep as they want, and I’ll let them stop when they want.

Pay attention today to the conversations you have. Listen for those opportunities. How will you respond?