other faiths

This morning I was speaking to a Jewish friend about the Passover Seder we experienced at our church Wednesday night. I asked him if he is celebrating Passover and he said, “No.” Then he proceeded to tell me he doesn’t go to temple or observe any days, not even a weekly Shabbat. He made sure I knew he is a believer, though.

I told my friend I was going to bug him every so often to at least observe Shabbat each week. I invited him to think of it as acknowledging God and keeping his heritage going another generation. He thanked me, and said he would think about it.

This is a good approach for Christians to take in your relationship with people of other faiths. Encourage them to be involved with their faith practices. That usually is a surprise to them. If a Christian is interested in talking to them about faith at all, they may have a preconceived notion that you are trying to show them why your way is better and they should follow your path. Now, I do want all people to trust in Jesus, and one of the ways Jesus works is to keep people who continue to seek God, looking, from within other faiths. If they are not practicing any faith, there may or may not be an end to their seeking.

There is a school of thought that says it is easier to share the Gospel with an atheist then with someone of another faith. I don’t always find this to be the case. When someone opens themselves to a God outside of themselves, it is a general opportunity for the Spirit to draw them to consider Christ. It isn’t always a closed door. Also, this is evidence you respect their faith and are courteous of their worldview.

Of course if there is child sacrifice or something than it we need to talk…