Big Yes, Little Yes, Healthy MaybeSample

The Little Yes

If you’re married, you would’ve said loads of Little Yeses to your spouse before you said the Big Yes to engagement and ultimately marriage – for example, yes to exchanging numbers, yes to the first date and then the second, and so on. You didn’t know everything about your spouse when you said yes that first time – so all the subsequent Little Yeses were really important. In the same way, it’s important to allow someone the time and headspace they need to get to know Jesus, saying small, authentic yeses to His claims until they’re comfortable to step into an all-in, forever relationship with Him.

After her encounter with Jesus, the woman at the well ran back to her village and said, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ (John 4:29). This indicates that she’d probably said a Little Yes to Jesus and was willing to explore His claims further. Even though she didn’t have all the answers, she shared what she was going through with her community, and as a result, many others came to know Jesus. Just imagine if our church communities could create environments for people to share their faith experiences and voice their questions!

The Little Yes phase is when a person is intentionally exploring the Christian faith. Be aware: you’ll likely find their priorities and timeframes won’t align with yours and you may be frustrated by how long it’s taking them to finally and fully accept Jesus. Keep in mind, too, that the journey of Little Yeses means that sometimes a person has already accepted Jesus by the time they go public with their decision. Also, they may accept some parts of the gospel message but not others. Remember that before you said a Big Yes to Jesus, there were probably parts of the gospel you found easy to embrace, and parts you just couldn’t get your head around – whereas now, you’re better able to accept those truths. Consider what it might look like for you, in the week ahead, to continue walking with someone who may believe some of the same things you do, and yet struggle with other things. Encourage them to explore, while celebrating what they do accept, and believe. Think about what it is that makes people feel comfortable enough to ask honest questions about God. And of course, if someone asks you a question about faith or the Bible that you can’t answer, be honest and let them know you’ll investigate too, and get back to them.

Let’s resolve to keep on inviting people to come in and have a look at who we are, what we believe, and why we believe it. Let’s keep on journeying with people in such a way that they know they’re loved, and we aren’t threatened by their questions or doubts. Let’s trust that just because someone isn’t saying a Big Yes doesn’t mean they’re saying a Big No.