Common Ground
 |
| Olga pointing to where she signed the cast. |
What do a five year old little boy and an eighty-five year old lady have in common? The answer is probably not very much, especially if they don’t live near each other or see each other very often.
My mother, Gammy, who is almost 85 years old, lives hundreds of miles from her great-grandchildren so their in-person visits are few and far between, therefore she tries to stay in touch by writing cards, sending gifts and talking to them on the phone, but the conversations are limited because there is not much for them to talk about.
This changed recently when Will fell while playing with some older children and had to have a bright red waterproof cast put on his broken arm. (Casts sure have come a long way over the years!) Gammy was asking about his arm and then proceeded to tell him that she had broken hers too. Well, there was an immediate connection. Will wanted to know the what, where, when, and how’s of her event. They were able to compare notes and had a real conversation about something that was important to both of them.
When you enjoy doing the same activities or have been through the same experiences it makes your relationships easier to establish. I think that is why Jesus told us that we need to become all things to all people; in other words we need to be able to establish a common ground with many different types of people. When we are well rounded and enjoy participating in a variety of activities we are able to minister to more people and therefore help to share the Gospel—after all isn’t that what God wants us to do?
1 Corinthians 9:22b-23 I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Comments