Introducing Agape Sticks

To so many, the Christian faith seems hopelessly complex.  Countless books have been written to explain it.  Dizzying schematics have been used to diagram it.  Frightened Christians dare not wade into its depths lest they be drowned with questions impossible to answer.  Is the faith that spread like wildfire in the first century AD really that complex?  Are the simple teachings of Jesus really just a confusing maze of truthy sayings?

I think not.

I would like to introduce you to a simple way for anyone to illustrate the Christian faith.  I call it Agape Sticks.  If you can draw a stick figure and an arrow, you can use Agape Sticks.  Whether you are talking to an unbeliever about your faith or trying to explain a difficult passage of scripture, Agape Sticks can help keep your message simple and to the point.  Let me explain how it works.

Agape Sticks is all about love.  Now, this isn’t the kind of love we think of as an emotion or a desire.  This love is commitment, where somebody really benefits from the love.  This is agape love.  Agape is the most used Greek word for love in the New Testament.  Agape is a committed, sacrificial love for someone else.  It’s the kind of love God has for us and the kind of love we should have for him and for each other.  In Agape Sticks, love is represented by an arrow.  Wherever the arrow points is where the commitment is.  Whoever has the arrow pointed to them benefits from that love.

The stick figures represent us.  That one’s pretty easy!

The basic question of Agape Sticks is, “Where does your Agape Stick?”  Check out the video below for more on how to use Agape Sticks.

The first step to using Agape Sticks is to recognize where your own love-arrow sticks.  Take some time to look at your choices with new eyes.  Does your agape love stick to others or does it wrap back around to yourself?  What happens in each case?  Can you tell when other people’s love-arrows stick to you?  How does it feel when their selfishness isolates you or takes advantage of you?  What happens when a team of people all work together in mutual love?  What happens when each team member is motivated by self-interest?

After seeing your own arrows in action, use Agape Sticks to explain your faith or a part of scripture to someone else.  Then, I would love some feedback.  It would be so helpful if you could leave a comment here or on the YouTube channel letting me know how it worked for you or if you have questions or suggestions to make it better.  Check out the other Agape Sticks videos too, and if there is a topic or passage of scripture you would like to explain using Agape Sticks, let me know in the comments and I’ll see about making a video for it.  Thanks!

Keep it simple.  Love like Jesus!