In my last article we were talking about the need to seriously connect with those you hope to be communicating with. We saw that Jesus was constantly drawing near to people, going to where they were, listening, connecting and then communicating. As well we saw that He incorporated four aspects of touching hearts in His communications – narrative, simplicity, familiarity, and concreteness.

Let’s talk this time about ‘drawing near’ as this is the first step in connecting with people. Jesus came from Heaven and “tented among us” according to John, Chapter one. He cared enough, loved enough, that He drew near. We too must do the same. Jesus became flesh – put on skin. We must be God’s love in the flesh. We must be love with skin on it. He became incarnate – we must represent the incarnation by allowing the Spirit in us to connect with those around us. God spoke to us in and through Jesus and not by some thundering voice from the heavens. The transcendent Word came within a human body, making what was distant and abstract now scandalously tangible. We must do the same.

“To communicate, God wrapped all that He desired to convey into physical, touchable flesh. Such an act is a great mystery indeed. Yet this putting of flesh upon the far-off and hard-to-grasp is required of all communicators. Without it, our words remain no more capable of touching others than disembodied spectres.”

So, how do you go about putting truth into flesh and touching the hearts and lives of those you wish to influence and impact with the Gospel – saved and unsaved? How do you ‘draw near?’

Through Shared Experiences

No better way to “take on flesh” than to share experiences with those you want to communicate with. Becoming involved in their activities, events, and things they are interested in will build bridges of trust and respect and allow you to have something in common upon which to build. People who have fought cancer can communicate with those fighting cancer; recovered alcoholics can communicate well to someone just recognizing they are addicted. These shared experiences help us connect and allow for rich communications. We assume that those “who walk a mile in our shoes” will understand us and care about us. And, for the most part that is true.

McDonald’s Corporation requires individuals who wish to become franchise owners to spend time working the front lines of a restaurant’s operations. Not only does this practice give would-be investors a better sense of how to manage their future business, but it also provides a basis for understanding and connecting to the people who will work for them.

So, choose to engage in activities in your community that will give you a paoint of connection and shared experience with those you want to reach.

Through Culture and Custom

Communicators can take on others’ flesh by adopting some of their culture and customs. By honouring the things others value, we convey that we desire to connect with them and respect them as individuals.

A young American who plans to move to the Middle East has chosen to give up pork and alcohol, grow a beard, study Mid-Eastern history, and takes other steps to honor the traditions of the Islamic world. Even in California, his simple choices have produced connection with Muslim acquaintances and opened opportunities for deeper friendship.

Hudson Taylor gave up his Western ways and adopted the lifestyle and culture of the Chinese so as to understand them and connect with them. Rather than communicating from the position of power and superior status considered birthright to British citizens, Taylor followed Jesus’ pattern, incarnating himself into Chinese culture.

Through Self-Disclosure

Frederick Buechner wrote, “...The story of any one of us is in some measure the story of us all.” And, so, as we let others see some of who we are on the inside – the real person without the masks – we can, once again, connect. As we share, they can relate to what we are revealing of ourselves, and connection is accomplished. This simply means we need to share honestly from our own lives and stories, especially when we speak with transparency about our hopes and failures, rough edges and desires. As we offer glimpses of the fact that we are human and share the same feelings and temptations as they do a connection is built and communications can begin.

Jedd Medefind shares, “A simple, personal story or a moment of vulnerable honesty can quickly turn you from a shadowy and distant figure into a flesh-and-blood companion with shared hopes and struggles.”

As we take this bold step of revealing a little more of ourselves than we usually do and are really comfortable with – a heart language is spoken and a heart language is heard and received. This heart language is the expression of God’s love between two people. For the fullest connection to be made it always requires us to move beyond our own native language – learning to express through the heart language of others. (see Dr. Gary Chapman’s teachings on love languages and then apply it to the wider emphasis of speaking to each and every person.)

Discovering another person’s heart language and learning to speak it will incarnate our communication in their world like nothing else. This is as true here in your home city or twon as it is overseas on the mission field.

Conclusion:

Jesus always shared in the language of the people. For people whose daily staple was bread He spoke about the Bread of Life. To Jews living in dusty Palestine He spoke of “living waters” which was also heavy with Jewish religious symbolism. When speaking to those in need He addressed their need and not spiritual issues first. A good number of His teachings utilized common items of farming and fishing because these were the heart languages of those He was teaching and connecting with.

Regardless of status, every one of us delights to encounter an individual who cares enough about us to meet us where we are, who hazards the time and energy and risk it takes to come near, to be present with us and understand us, and to speak our heart language with sincerity.

The costs of communicating can be high. They were for Hudson Taylor and for Jesus who “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant...he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on the cross.” The costs and risk will be real for us as well – but worth it!