test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:24-25
One of our speakers in our church Evangelism Master Class said, “You have to listen so that you can get to the root of the issue and not argue about the fruit of the issue.” She was addressing the importance of deeply listening to others who have objections about God. Often, a person’s surface level rejection of God is not the deepest reason a person keeps God at arm’s length. A past hurt, bad experience, or distorted picture of who God is can sit at the root of a person making an angry claim that it is simply illogical to believe in God.
Not only does this apply when truly listening to others in evangelism, it applies to listening to our own soul as well. We sometimes fixate on rotten fruit in our lives because it is on the surface and easily visible. But what is at the root of that fruit? Often anger on the surface has deep pain and fear underneath. Lust on the surface has loneliness and lack of intimacy underneath. Racism on the surface has a misunderstanding about God’s creation and the God-given inherent value of each person underneath. Worry flourishes where there is a lack of rest in God’s loving and sovereign provision.
It can be difficult to perceive what exactly is at the root of uneatable fruit in our life. That is why it is so important to spend personal time with God in self-examination. That which lurks in the deepest and darkest parts of our soul is no mystery to God. He sees with absolute precision and crystal clarity. And as one pastor I heard say, “He sees us to the bottom and loves us to the sky.” Don’t get stuck focusing on the fruit of the issue; ask God to heal the root of the issue. Spend time with God in conversation and ask Him for insight, cleansing, healing, and transformation down to the root.