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We have many conversations with people around us every day. Sometimes we have business conversations at work, sometimes we have pleasant conversations with our family members, and we also say the words of blessing to our brothers and sisters whenever we greet them. Come to think of it, conversations are a huge part of our everyday lives. It is because without conversations we can hardly communicate and understand each other. So, conversations are an essential part of our lives.
There are empty and useless conversations and also bad conversations that bring forth evil (Mt 12:34–37). So, God has taught us how to have a good, beautiful conversation. That is preaching. Preaching is a conversation that we have with a mind to save souls through God’s word as our topic. This conversation is so good and righteous, and it is the conversation that saves the world.
God has allowed us to devote ourselves to having conversations for salvation. By having beautiful, God-pleasing conversations, we should purify the world as children of heaven.
Conversations are necessary in our lives
The absence of communication caused by a lack of conversation creates many problems in today’s modern society. A management scholar has announced that 60 percent of the enterprise problems which can result in the failure of management are caused by a lack of communication. It is the same for a family. Experts say that 50 percent of marriages that end in divorce are due to a lack or breakdown of communication between couples. Moreover, criminal psychologists analyze that 90 percent of criminals have problems communicating with others.
To sum up the aforesaid context, where there is no conversation, there are conflicts and failures. A relationship without communication is like a broken bridge between two places. In such a relationship, you cannot share anything, even the small feelings, and it causes antagonism and discord. Nothing can be done without communication between couples or between friends or colleagues. So, conversations are an essential part of our lives.
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Mt 7:12
Jesus has emphasized that doing to others whatever we would like them to do to us is a virtue that we, God’s people, should practice. If we do so, we will surely be rewarded for it. Conversation is no exception.
Let us not wait for others to come and talk to us, but approach them and talk to them first, trying to understand their thoughts and feelings. Then we can start a conversation with them. Although we may feel awkward at first, we will soon be able to have a friendly conversation with them and even share our hearts with them.
However, this does not mean that it is always good to talk a lot. Not all conversations have good, favorable effects. There are assertive and boastful conversations that can hurt someone’s feelings and cause conflict, and there are also futile and meaningless conversations.
As God’s children, we need to have beautiful conversations that help us build up one another and benefit each other’s souls. To share these conversations with us human beings, Jesus Himself came down to this earth from heaven.
Jesus let us listen to the conversations for salvation
When Jesus came to this earth, He let us listen to the beautiful conversations. He told us the stories of heaven, and taught us how to receive the forgiveness of sins and what God is preparing for us, so that we will receive it when we return to heaven—our eternal home. These are the most beautiful conversations in the world, which God has asked us humans to listen to so that we can be saved.
Without these conversations, we poor human beings who sinned in heaven and were cast down to this earth—the spiritual city of refuge—would end up dying after wandering aimlessly in the dark without any clear direction or purpose in our lives. As slaves to sin, we were living in vain for the things of this earth. Through the conversations with Jesus, however, our lives have completely changed. We, sinners, have received the forgiveness of sins and have also come to entertain the hope of heaven in our minds: ‘I, too, can go to heaven.’
For this, Jesus called His disciples like Peter first, and He asked them to share the opportunities to join this great conversation with people.
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Mt 4:17–20
“I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus gave these words of hope to His disciples who had been making their living as fishermen. This was the very start of the great conversation between God our Savior and us humans who were living as slaves to the earthly desires, which last for a moment and then vanish.
Peter and Andrew, who paid attention to the words of Jesus, left their boats and nets and followed Him to participate in the great conversation. If they did not have a conversation with Jesus, they would have spent all their lives as fishermen. As Jesus called them, however, their lives completely changed. They became God’s messengers who preached the eternal world to people who were living only for the moment, and they also became God’s apostles, who have been admired by many people even up until now. After that, the twelve apostles including Peter and Andrew never hesitated to preach the words that they heard and learned from Jesus to those who needed the conversations for salvation.
God asked us to have life-saving conversations
God also told us to always have soul-reviving conversations, with the words of God.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Ti 4:1–2
It is God’s will for us to have meaningful conversations, thinking about what we should do to lead a soul into God’s arms so that the soul can go to the eternal world together with us, instead of having meaningless conversations.
All lives are precious. So, no matter how many times we have conversations for salvation, it is never enough. Those who realize the blessings of God should always have the life-saving conversations with people, being prepared in season and out of season, according to the teachings of the Bible.
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 2 Ti 4:3–5
People in the world devote themselves to myths instead of God’s truth. God told us, His children, not to waste our time on such meaningless things but to do the work of an evangelist and discharge all the duties of our ministry. What do you think the work of an evangelist is? It is to continuously have the conversations for salvation. The mission of an evangelist is to preach the kingdom of God, salvation and eternal life to people, to tell them what it means to worship God rightly, and to teach them how to obey the will of God.
All living things need care and conversations. I once asked someone what his secret was for growing healthy houseplants, and he said something that I did not expect to hear. According to his words, it is important to provide the plants with an adequate amount of water and nutrients at the right times, but it is much more effective to have conversations with them because they also have life. So, if you greet your plants and give them warm encouraging words, they grow up healthy, full of vitality.
There are so many people around us who are in urgent need of conversations for life. Let us approach them, too, and preach the good news of salvation to them, so that the way to heaven can also be opened wide for them. If we devote ourselves to having the life-saving conversations, God will surely repay us with great blessings.
Peter was blessed with the keys of the kingdom of heaven, through gracious conversations
The conversations between God and His people must not be cut off. If we do not have a conversation with God, we become alienated from Him.
We can have a conversation with God right now. It is through prayer. So, Jesus prayed to God from early in the morning and continued preaching the gospel, the beautiful conversation (Mk 1:35–39).
Prayer is the breath of the soul, and it is also a conversation with our spiritual Parents. So, when we have a conversation with God, there is no need for a big, special formality. Have many conversations with God through prayer. Just as the conversations between parents and their children at home help them understand what is in each other’s hearts, our prayers to God enable us to have a life-giving communication with God, clothe ourselves with the power of God, and stand firm in our faith towards God (Mk 11:24).
There is a saying that goes, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” In the Bible there are records about the people who received great blessings from God through gracious conversations. One of them is Peter, who received a great reward—the keys of the kingdom of heaven—through gracious conversations with Jesus.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Mt 16:13–19
When Jesus had a conversation with His disciples, He tested their faith by asking them the question, “Who do you say I am?” Then Peter said without any hesitation that Jesus is the Savior. Many people kept slandering Jesus, calling Him a “Nazarene” and saying, “You, a mere man, claim to be God.” However, Peter had firm faith in Jesus. He pleased Jesus greatly by always paying attention to His words and giving the right answer, full of faith. As a result, he received such a great blessing—the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
If Peter had not listened to Jesus or had not sincerely participated in a conversation with Him, he would not have received such a tremendous blessing. Like Peter, let us also continuously have gracious conversations with God, so that we can please Him.
Jesus defeated Satan through His conversation with him
Satan is jealous of those who will be saved, and he prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pe 5:8). He tries to erase the hope for the eternal world from people’s hearts by setting the traps of temptation before them through conversations. Jesus Himself set an example of how to handle such crafty conversations.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Mt 4:1–11
Satan tested Jesus by attempting a crafty and malicious conversation, saying, “Tell these stones to become bread.” However, Jesus resisted the devil by quoting a gracious and virtuous teaching from the Bible, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Dt 8:3). In an ongoing conversation, Satan tried a cunning trick to make Jesus test God. Then Jesus exposed Satan’s error by quoting another verse which says that God is not an object of test, but a worthy object of worship (Dt 6:16). Lastly, Satan tempted Jesus with greed and selfish gain by saying that he would give Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor if He would bow down and worship him. With those transient and temporary things, however, he was never able to tempt Jesus, who is the Lord of the eternal world. As Jesus overcame every temptation by using God’s word, the devil left Jesus.
Jesus always brought up God in His conversations. Satan tries to make people exclude God from their conversations and set their minds on the things of the flesh, always thinking, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ However, even though the devil is prowling around, trying to tempt us, we will be victorious in the end if we always put God at the center of every conversation we have.
Like Jesus, let us have the conversations that enable us to be victorious through God’s word, and like Peter let us have the conversations which bring forth blessings. Useless conversations are lifeless ones. So, we need to have the life-giving spiritual conversations. Share the stories of heaven with people around you as many times as possible, such as the story of God’s love, the story of the Passover—the way to have eternal life and to escape disasters, and much more. If you think that preaching is a conversation about the kingdom of heaven with others, it is not a difficult thing for you anymore. Let us carefully learn God’s way of having conversations and preach the good news of salvation to the whole world.
From now on, let us have conversations as often as possible. If we have many beautiful conversations, we can become closer to God and lead many people on the path to salvation. Having good conversations can also help us build a more intimate relationship with our family members and colleagues and become united with our brothers and sisters as well. As God’s children, let us lead many people around us to the way of salvation by always having life-giving conversations with them, so that we can all go to the kingdom of God together.