The Hinting Life
One of my Christmas gifts this year was a copy of a new memoir by my father, God Outwitted Me. In the introduction, my father describes his life as a “hinting life.” [1]
What a great phrase!
The Oxford Dictionary defines a hint as a “slight indication” or a “small trace of something.” Other words with a similar meaning are “clue,” “signal,” and “pointer.” That gives powerful meaning to the idea of living a hinting life, especially for evangelism.
As Christians, we are to be about the business of showing and sharing the love of Jesus. [2] That is what evangelism is all about. To do that, we must embrace the hinting life. We must become “slight indications” of what a relationship with Jesus looks like. We must become walking, talking clues pointing to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. When people encounter us, they must be able to perceive the small trace of something bigger than we or they are; they must witness – through the way we live and work, talk and love, care and give – the signal pointing them to the life-giving love of Jesus Christ and the abundant life he promises both now and always.
In the introduction of his memoir, my father describes his life as a hint: “sometimes weak and only a slight hint; sometimes strong and a bold hint; but always flowing out of my commitment to live in Christ.” [3]
As we begin this new year, I pray that you will be so committed to living in Christ that your life becomes a hint of all the things God intends for his good creation. There will be times when it may be only a slight hint, but that is no cause for worry. If you are willing to live the hinting life, God is able to transform even “a small trace of something” into exactly the clue needed to point others to everlasting life.
[1] Maxie D. Dunnam, God Outwitted Me: The Stories of My Life (Franklin, TN: Seedbed Publishing, 2017) p3.
[2] I’m grateful to Ed Stetzer for this wonderful description of evangelism – showing and sharing the love of Jesus.
[3] God Outwitted Me, p3. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]