At a 2013 Church of God conference in Alabama, several of the youth played a prank on the adults. For the final meal of the week, they set out a tray of chocolate-covered treats. The prank was wrapped inside the sweet confections, for within the chocolate were raw onions, potatoes, and radishes.
The taste was not exactly what the diners expected.
When we share the Word of God, we must understand that man will not grasp its meaning. We will present one thing, and the world will hear us say another.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:13 that when we speak to others of Christ, we cannot use man’s wisdom to explain God. If we talk of the fossil record, the remains of the Ark, or the light from stars millions of light-years away, our arguments will collapse.
Rather, Paul encourages us to compare worldly things with those of the world, and spiritual things with those of the spirit.
Apples to apples. Oranges to oranges. Limes to limes.
It is only when we have an understanding of the Word of God that we can truly present God’s truth to the world around us, and we gain that understanding by the instruction of the Holy Spirit.
So, if we present the truth of God to someone without spiritual understanding, we will offer them a chocolate treat, but all they will taste is onion. They will spit it out and curse us. When we speak to the world about Christ, we must speak apples to apples, oranges to oranges, and limes to limes. We must speak in words the world understands. It is when others gain spiritual maturity that we can speak in spiritual terms, for then the onion will have become a sweetmeat, tender to the tongue, and enjoyed as it is consumed.
We must speak words of truth in terms that people will understand. Then Jesus can draw the broken unto him.
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