My wife and I lead a home community group in our local fellowship and conversation is part of what drives the group, you might say that without conversation the group would falter. Why? Why is conversation so important? What kind of conversation is important? What kind of conversation is most effective? I thought, if I'm going to get my understanding of this from Scripture I have to read "backwards" in God's story to get a better understanding of conversation and where it comes--what is the "story of conversation"?
The Great Announcer: God as the First Initiator of Conversation
God has the first conversation with Himself (Gen 1:26) and the next He has with Adam and the basis of conversation is announcing Adam's privilege(s) (Gen 2:17). God is proclaiming to Adam, "This is what I have for you to enjoy. Enjoy it!" So, it seems to me that if conversation is going to be understood properly we have to understand that it started with, comes from, and was first initiated by God.
The Questions of Conversation: Deviating From the Plan
The next conversation is not so helpful. There's no announcing or proclaiming, nothing said that can be stood on or trusted in. In fact, all that has already been proclaimed is now being called into question (Gen 3:1). All the questioning and debating about what has already been affirmed is really just temptation to throw out what God has already said in the name of, "good, thoughtful, intuitive conversation". Nothing good can come from this, right?
The Gracious Confronter: God as the First to Confront, Convict and Give Hope
The next conversation God has with man is unlike the first in that it is an actual conversation; meaning there is dialogue involved. Once again, it is initiated by God (Gen 3:9a). There is some questioning (Gen 3:9b; Gen 3:11, 13), all of which is done by God and all of which leads Adam and Eve to realize the weight of the error and the foolishness of their "intuitive conversation" and dismissal of all that was announced and proclaimed to them. Then, God does some more proclaiming and promising (Gen 3:14-19). Part of this announcement is a curse on a now fallen world, but in the midst of the curse there is a promise (Gen 3:15). So, to answer my previous question--Yes! Good can and did come from Eve's interrogative conversation in Genesis 3:1-7. In the midst of His promise to curse, God promises to redeem and in doing so He gives hope to an otherwise hopeless Adam and Eve. This hope is of coarse found in the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Our Conversation
God's conversation with Adam, Eve and the serpent in Genesis 3 is the Gospel. He confronts, which is what the Gospel does to us, He convicts them of sin, which the Gospel does, He promises a redeemer and victor over sin and death, which the Gospel does also, and all of this is done to lead Adam and Eve back to the God that they doubted and distrusted.
Shouldn't we pattern our conversation after this? If our most important moments of conversation are going to truly be effective and helpful then taking opportunities to lead one another to our Redeemer and King is crucial. This doesn't mean every word we speak to someone has to be about the Gospel but it should be driven by the Gospel. Are we loving enough to confront with grace when confrontation is needed? Do we believe in the power of the Gospel enough to rebuke and correct with gentleness when we know it is necessary. Is Christ's atonement and the hope of the coming Kingdom such a reality to us that we are eager and able to encourage others with its truth?
Does the history of our conversation mirror His-story of conversation?
The Bible is written to show us the true nature of reality. Scripture will either affirm or confront the stories by which we make sense of the details of our daily lives.- Michael R. Emlet, CrossTalk: Where Life & Scripture Meet
