Relationships

Posted on Friday, June 24, 2011 by Scott Sjoblom

I felt like I was trying to explain an iPad to a caveman.

After one of our summer meetings I was talking with a group of guys when the conversation turned spiritual. After several months of spending time with these guys I finally had an open door to share how God wants a relationship with them.

Nothing.

That idea really didn't resonate at all. And yet, the concept is something so common we almost take it for granted. That is when it hit me. These guys have no idea about what a real relationship even looks like!

None of them have a father at home. Mom has to work overtime to support the family. One of the guys has a girlfriend... but he doesn't know her last name or her phone number. Communication comes through a 3x5 touchscreen. That is a snapshot of their most significant relationships.

And then there is me. We hang out, we laugh, I listen. I take them as they are. They understand that they don't have to change or be different for me to care about them. But, we really only get to hang out once, maybe twice a week.

I want them to change, to come to Christ. But, I can't force it. That is something only a relationship with a God who loves them can do. And that is the rub.

Not only do they not understand God's love, they don't understand the vehicle through which it comes.

Unless that vehicle is me. That is why I have to keep showing up. Listening. Being patience. Loving without an agenda. It is hard, it is slow but it is necessary because the sad reality is that I represent the only honest relationship most of these kids have. It is stories like this that remind me of why I do what I do. And, that we need more people to be doing it.

It is hard to explain an iPad. It's much more fun to experience one.

 

Scott is on staff with Palm Beach County Youth for Christ and also blogs at www.story-living.com.