Audience or Family? ...

Friday, Nov 16, 2012. Recently we have been in a concert. There were many young people that evening. The artists performed a fantastic play, a musical with brilliant beat, melodies and texts. But when I think about the relationship between the people who listened and the artists, between those who are related to the artists and the production and the others, I ask myself: are you audience or family?

Where do you belong? …

In our concert, I felt more like family than like audience. The reason for that was that one of my daughters was singing in the choir, and also, we know the composer of the musical - he has been working with my wife for a while. Our relationship to the whole project is not just “come and listen”, but we are involved. Of course, there are people much deeper involved, all those who work with the project, the camera men and women, the marshals, musicians etc. But we are still linked to it and feel attached and part of the family.

When we talk about “solid ground”, we might also be audience in the first place. We listen to the arguments. We hear stories. We might even take part in reasoning. We collect arguments for and against special statements. We read the biblical texts. We think about truth. We search for truth in science. All this is ok, it is important and necessary. But where are we audience and where are we family?

As a scientist, I feel to be family when it comes to science. In my area, I have searched and found some methods. I published them and they are known to a range of experts. You become part of the family by publishing, by scientific activity, by talking on workshops and conferences, by organizing some of them, by writing reports and applications, by serving in national and international organizations.

Become family! …

When it comes to God and to faith, are we audience or family? When you hear about faith and when you talk about faith, you are audience. When you collect reasons about faith and read biblical texts, you are audience!

To become family, you need to believe yourself. You need to become involved. You need some kind of relationship, which makes you known to the composer. You need to be a part of the project, not just someone listening. There is the invitation, to become family!

What is a good step to become family? There are many such steps, being a part of the project is a process, not just one thing. But you need to start the relationship, you will start to be involved in one way or another. One very common step is a prayer of like: “Lord, come into my life. Accept me into your family. Take my life and fill it with your spirit. Forgive me all I have done, in the name of Jesus. Amen.” The Lord will give you your personal way to formulate it, but prayer of this type has been a turning point in the life of many - to start a new life and be part of the family. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts