Hallo freunde! (Hello friends!)
It's been a while (but what else is new?). Thought there'd be no better time to blog than after another one of my great traveling adventures.
I am currently recovering from an exhausting, but amazing week spent in Germany-Berlin, Munich, and Nuremberg. What a beautiful country! Aside from the cool buildings and doors and cobblestone sidewalks and streets, I made much deeper observations that I've been reflecting on.
There are three themes observed that I want to address: walls, intellect, and relativism.
1. Walls. While walking through a residential neighborhood in Berlin one day, I noticed that every house had some sort of wall or fence. This tends to portray who the Germans are fairly well. Just as they build up walls to keep people from entering their property, they also build up walls to keep people from entering their personal lives. It is challenging to get to know someone on a personal level. Once they let you in, though, it is a big deal. I've been told they have a few close friends, but aside from that, they don't really talk to many people. It is rather difficult to become an insider, but once you do, you're in for good. I could see this quite evidently the first day we approached students on the college campuses. In the German culture, it is not normal for strangers to just come up and talk to each other. As we tried conversing with students, we were shot down more often than not, and often quite harshly at that. This got discouraging quickly. It was easy to find myself judging them and becoming apathetic toward them. While having these thoughts though, I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that the same feeling of rejection I was experiencing is how God feels when I deny Him...daily. How humbling and convicting! It is only because of God's grace that I am in a different position than they are. I have been touched by His grace and Spirit and He was able to break down my walls.
2. Intellect. Germans students take their education very seriously. They are deep thinkers and can be set in their ways. It is easy and common for them to take pride in their knowledge. They like to argue for what they think is right and argue against that which they don't. Coming into the trip, this was the aspect I was most nervous and concerned about. What if someone I talked to stumped me and I was left speechless and feeling embarrassed and shamed for my lack of knowledge? I guess, to my selfish advantage, it was good that I only had one conversation per day. I still felt intimidated when I did finally get into a conversation. Was this person going to have a strong opinion that was different than mine that they were passionate about arguing for? Sharing my faith always has me asking myself all sorts of questions leaving me anxious and fearful. But when it boils down to it, God is the One doing the work anyways. He speaks through me and is where I obtain the most important knowledge of all. I pray that God would reveal his ultimate knowledge to Germans and other people that don't know it.
3. Relativism. Along with their intellect, so many Germans also believe that truth is relative. It can be difficult to communicate with someone when they aren't necessarily willing to actually hear you out. While in Germany, we used this evangelism tool called "Perspective Cards" that allowed for easier spiritual conversations. These cover 5 important perspectives: Nature of God, Human Nature, Meaning of Life, Identity of Jesus, and Source of Spiritual Truth. Within these are 5 or 6 options for the individual to choose from. Under the "Source of Spiritual Truth" category one of the options is that truth is relative. This card was chosen multiple times. It is always hard to continue on after someone lays that one out. It seems at that point that anything else you'll say is pointless. I've realized that is a lie, because God is the One in control and He can work however he pleases. Plus, if we truly believe that The Good News is the Ultimate Truth, why would we not want to share it, despite what someone may believe at that moment in time?
God is at work in Germany and I am privileged to have been given the opportunity to be a part of it. God has been growing my heart for His people and the world. And for that I am grateful.
