Talk to me, not about me. We live in a world that provides many different ways to communicate with one another, but have we really stopped to talk with someone lately? Do we depend on electronic devices to take the place of face to face communication? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We have a lot to talk about, but who are we talking to? We say many different things about many different people but who are we telling it to? Have we ever wondered if we are really communicating? There are many different ways to contact someone but are we really making a connection? Have we considered the best way to communicate, face to face?

There’s a difference between “in your face” and face to face. I tend not to listen when someone gets in my face. I tend to pay more attention to someone who sits down and talks with me face to face. There is something significant when someone takes the time to meet you where you are and talks with you.

Our presence makes a difference. I can text you and even call you but when I talk to you face to face it is so much more significant. That is one reason we are encouraged by the scripture to not give up meeting together.

So many more things can be communicated face to face. You can see body language, facial expressions, attitude and emotions. It is so much easier to communicate face to face, but at the same time it can be harder to face someone when you do not have good news. As we minister to others we find the most effective way is face to face.

I am reminded of a scripture passage that helps us understand the best way to communicate is face to face. John writes;

3 John, 13-14 (NLT); I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face.

We live in a society that has given up the art of talking with someone. We send a text or an email. Because they lack emotions we have developed emojis. We send a smiley face or a frown, a thumbs up or maybe a face with a tear. We have to include how we are feeling when we send a note because they can be read very differently. We say a lot but we do it in such an impersonal way. We talk to many people in a day but what we say doesn’t always convey what we mean. The way we communicate with each other leaves something to be desired. If we take the time to talk face to face all that goes away.

The neighborhood is gone, we see our neighbors only through the car window as they enter and leave their garage. I remember a day when many of our neighbors would come and sit together in lawn chairs and talk. They would look forward to that time of day when the chores were done and they could sit on the porch and talk about the day. I think that is why Lynda and I like camping so much, it’s like the old neighborhood.

Recently I had a friend come to visit. He was from the old neighborhood. We grew up together and were best friends. Oh the stories we could tell. It had been a while since we had gotten together, he lives in Georgia now. We drove through the old neighborhood and remembered those days, the friends, the fun and the mischief. The neat thing was that we didn’t want to talk over the phone, we do that sometimes several times a day, no this was about being together, spending time together, just talking.

In the scripture that John wrote he shows us the inadequacy of pen and ink. You can be the best writer in the world but your written word can only go so far. You need to see the emotion with which the story is told. You need to feel the passion. You need to see the excitement, you need to understand the sincerity, feel the angst. You need to see the pain, the hurt. All these emotions lose themselves if we do not communicate face to face.

Let me ask you, is it better to read a story or watch a storyteller? I remember watching a storyteller recently retell a situation that I was an integral part of. I lived it, but yet I could not have communicated it as well as this fellow did. He added so much life and emotion to the recounting of the event. I remember saying, here listen as he tells the story, he retells it so much better than I could.

That is why they make movies from books, visually we can see so much more than our mind can read. I think of the movie that was made about the crucifixion of Christ. I knew the story, I read and preached on it countless times, but after watching it play out before me, I was speechless. I could only sit in silence and struggle to understand why Jesus would endure that for me. The graphic portrayal of what those words really meant changed my life.

Looking into someone’s eyes and talking with them makes all the difference in the world. It solidifies our relationship. It also works that way with God. We need to come together face to face to honor him. Our relationship with God suffers if we do not. We need to see others walking the same road we are.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT); Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

We cannot encourage one another, forgive one another, comfort one another and worship without coming together face to face. We need to be with people. We need to have close relationships with people. God created us in such a way that our personal relationships are what gives our life significance, first with Him and then with others. We are built in such a way that we need others; we need face to face relationships.

I want to encourage you to take the time and go to someone, meet them face to face and talk. Don’t get so caught up in technology that you fail to communicate what someone really means to you. Don’t get so complacent in day-to-day activities that you lose sight of how important it is to take the time and meet someone face to face.

Christ came to meet us face to face. He came to give his life for us. We can see the cost written in his face. He showed us how much he cared for us. He came, he endured the cross, and he provided salvation for our souls. He didn’t do it from Heaven, he did it right here on Earth, face to face.

Blessings,

Pastor Don