Skeletons in the Closet
My son is four and he has never had swimming lessons. I am starting to feel pretty guilty about this fact, but our reality has been that a lot of our evenings get taken up with work or hospitality. But don’t worry; we will make it happen in the near future!
Imagine I start explaining to my son about water and swimming. My advice includes information like, ‘If you hold your head under water too long you will drown.’ ‘This is how you tread water.’ ‘If you get into trouble, turn over on your back and you will float.’ This is crucial information for him to understand.
Now, imagine an older individual who is learning to swim receiving the same advice and turning to their instructor to ask, ‘What is the relevance of this information?’ That would be an odd question. What do you mean, ‘What is the relevance of this?’ This is significant information if you are going to learn to stay afloat. It would only really make sense for him to ask, ‘How is this information relevant for me?’ if he never intended to go into the water. If he has every intention of swimming that question wouldn’t come to his mind.
The relevance is obvious.
In a similar manner, if you and I have every intention of sharing the love and truth of Jesus with people in our culture there will be no question about the relevance of this series, Skeletons in the Closet. These times together will equip us to communicate reasons for our belief in a day of widespread skepticism directed towards the Christian faith.
But there are also those of us who have been swimming for a long time and we might think, ‘What is the relevance for me? I already know how to swim.’ But look, you and I may have been swimming for so long that we have forgotten what it feels like to not be able to swim. Swimming can become so natural for us that it is very difficult to explain to others the fundamentals of swimming.
In a similar way, this series will help equip long-time Christians to help other non-believers or new believers in their journey of faith. It will remind us of the popular questions and objections and give us a fresh take on the answers. It will hopefully engage our heads and hearts like never before.
PART ONE: Skeletons in the Christian’s Closet
PART TWO: Skeletons in the Skeptics Closet