We started out talking about John Lennon. I ended up with a picture on my wall of him after several months of conversation. A few weeks later I had 5 pages of yellow notebook paper filled front and back with every album, every concert the Beatles ever performed.
One day after talking about the untimely death of John Lennon, I brought up that there was another John who was killed way too soon. He got killed for standing up for what was right. He got killed because he dared to stand up to a powerful ruler and confront his sin of adultery. His boldness eventually cost him his head. We had discussions regarding why adultery is wrong and who makes the rules and how I knew about this. I told him it was written down in some books called Gospels. This meant “good news”. He said…that doesn’t sound like good news to me! I told him the good news was about Jesus, he was John’s cousin and he was also the Son of God.
A few more months went by as we now would sit quite comfortably together in my office and talk about history like the titanic, or current events…the latest being the coal miners who were killed. With each conversation I was able to weave in the story of Jesus, redemption, mercy and love.
There was much hesitancy in him about the realness and reality of Jesus. One day I asked him if he would be willing to read a book by another person named John. He was a friend of Jesus’s and he wrote down the things he saw Jesus do. I told him it was an eye witness testimony. (He is very big on eye witnesses).
Last night there was 5 pages of white notebook paper stapled and laying face down on my desk. Within these pages were sentences written down with numbers in front of them. One of them was starred. He peeked his head into my office as a group of us were sitting, getting ready to start a discussion…he said….”the one that is starred was what I thought was the most important thing written in that book.”
When I got home last night…..I looked for the star….and written in his paraphrase…John XV, 13…And here is how to measure it-The greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.
WOW!!! I am looking forward to this discussion. This is why I do what I do!
Well done. Great way to “engage” the culture. May God continue to bless you and yours as to befriend those whom Jesus loves.
Thanks Brian….I am still blown away by the privilege God is giving me to see the Spirit at work in the lives of the people I have met in this community.