[I am posting this from 31,000 feet, over Japan]
I met these two men and struck up a conversation while waiting to board my flight from Taipei to LAX. They are very nice men. I began the conversation by pointing out we have the same hairstyle. Baldness. They both liked that. Then we discovered we are the same age. We discussed that for a while.
The one on the left is the Master–his name is Lim. He has lived in the California for 20 years. The other guy is visiting the U.S. for the first time–his name is Rueangchai. He will be in America for two months. I told him, “Let me be the first American to welcome you to our country.”
The “Master” spoke good English, the other one, broken, but semi-understandable. As we became more friendly with each other, I used the opportunity to tell them I am a Christian and a pastor.
They liked the idea that I was a pastor. It intrigued them. I told them how I also help gang members. The “Master” told me how we were so much alike in helping people, and that all people are born good. I nodded and smiled.
Then I said, “The living God says just the opposite. God says all people are born bad, with sin, and sin separates us from God. Because of that, we need a Savior. His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” “So while we both may have a desire to be holy, Jesus says that only by believing in him can one be truly holy.”
He told me he “sees Jesus” all the time. I said, “It’s not enough to ‘see him’, you must ‘believe in him’; that he is the only way.”
Of course, as always happens when sharing Christ, an interruption comes. At that point they began boarding our flight. I quickly asked a Taiwanese man sitting by us if he would take the picture. I got an email address from the monks so I could send them the photo.
As we boarded, the Taiwanese man was standing next to me and said he heard my conversation with those Buddhist monks. He told me he was a Christian too.
These Buddhist guys are going to Escondido to a temple and then are driving up to Washington. I invited them to our Hope Now Church if they happen to be driving through Fresno on a Thursday or Sunday. That amazed them–that they would be invited. They are just men in need of salvation. Maybe they will hear the gospel again and believe?
If you are a Christian reading this…use every opportunity to share Christ. Don’t be ashamed of the gospel. And don’t be afraid to talk to people who look different than you. You never know who God will put in your path.
You are just the messenger. God does the saving.
Pastor Roger's Cambodia Report 