It's been kind of a long week for reasons I'll elaborate on in another post, so on Thursday instead of trying to meet someone new, I sent a message to a guy I've met with a few times, Gameboy, and was really excited about back in October. I hadn't had much interaction with him since because he's been very busy, but I figured even if the rest of his day is full, he has to eat lunch. So eat lunch we did.
I was stressed and had a lot on my mind throughout my lunch with him and wasn't really focused on making the transition to talking about spiritual things. Bu as we got up to leave I knew that I hadn't been very bold and that God had FINALLY given me an opportunity to meet up with this guy and I didn't take advantage of it.
So on our walk back to the basketball courts after lunch I finally just asked him, "So have you thought any more about the stuff we talked about last time?"
His answer, "I think I am starting to believe, but I need to read the Bible to learn more. Maybe we can study it together and if I have questions you can help me?"
Um...yes.
The last time we had gotten together, I had the opportunity of bringing two of our fellowship students with me to help share with him and they had told him about our gathering at the end of the week.
He asked, "All of your friends that get together to talk about the Bible, they are all Christians?"
When I answered yes, his response was, "And they all learned from you?"
Ha! Not quite. I explained to him that most of them were Christians before I even came here, but the next part of our conversation floored me and is the reason I'm writing about my time with him.
He asked me, "Why did you tell me about Jesus?"
As I prepared to give him my answer, he began to answer his own question.
"Is it because I have guilt in my life and need to be saved from it so that I can go to Heaven and have a relationship with God? Is it because you love me very much and want me to be able to experience the same thing that you have?"
Though I still can't fully comprehend this conversation and the weight of his words, I hope that I never forget what he said.
I've heard it said that in this country, most people hear the words "I love you" only twice throughout their entire lives. When they get engaged and when they get married. So that Gameboy even mentioned the word "love" to describe our relationship completely blows my mind.
Clearly the Gospel is doing something in him that is way more significant than words that I tell him or writing on a sheet of paper.
On my own I am completely incapable of loving this guy that I've met only 3-4 times. But praise the Lord that even amidst the junk in my life and the mess that this week has been, Gameboy didn't see me but the love of Christ shining through me.
CK
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