“Christians spend so much of their time with their Christian friends and at church events. I’ve heard that called ‘Rabbit Hole Christianity’ because the only time Christians are around non-Christians is when they pop out of their Christian hole and make a mad dash to some other Christian event. We need to get close to people who are far from God.”- Kyle Idleman
“Now [Jesus] had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.”- John 4:4-5 (NIV)
Kyle Idleman moves on in Chapter 10 of One At a Time with three more ways Jesus modeled how to have conversations about our Christian faith.
2. Compelled. Pastor Idleman thinks Jesus felt compelled to go through Samaria in order to meet the woman at the well. Perhaps, Kyle wonders, might Jesus have felt a nudge from God?
Hence, Kyle asks, have you ever felt a nudge from God? Or, even better, do you pray for that nudge?
Because Jesus wants everyone to draw near to God, He sought out the Samaritan woman. Someone far from God. And, Kyle exhorts, we must do the same. As a result, when Christ’s love compels us to seek out opportunities, we’ll have far more conversations.
3. Acceptance leads to influence. Jesus arrived at the well at noon. Since it was way too hot to lug water around, no one else showed up. That’s like going grocery shopping at 3 AM today.
So, the woman expected to see no one when she came to the well. Above all, Jesus speaking to her served to indicate His acceptance. And that’s the first step toward influence.
4. Lead with questions. Most significantly, in the Gospels, Jesus asks 307 questions. But, in contrast, we see people ask Jesus 183 questions. In addition, He provided direct answers to only three of those questions.
However, every question we ask deepens a relationship, making it easier to talk about the deeper things of God.
Today’s question: Do you find the term Rabbit Hole Christianity an apt description of your life? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Spiritual smokescreen – keep God distant”
