Travel often gives you down time at airports and hotels etc during which time I love to sit with a coffee and watch the flow of humaity going about their daily lives.
Right now I am sitting at breakfast next to an extremely well dressed man of French origins.
His manner is brisk and businesslike. On the table are business documents with flow charts and all kinds of reports. On the next table are three South African men who prayed for at least five minutes before beginning their breakfast.
Across from me over by the window are two men who just beat me to the table I wanted. They are so deep in conversation and leaning across the table toward one another their foreheads almost touch at times.
I could sit and watch this drama of creation unfold for hours and probably will.
The thing I notice most is that all these people take their own little world so seriously they never attempt to migrate into my world. Sadly most of us never venture out of our own little worlds to engage others in their little world. The moment you do your world doubles in size as you now have permission to live in another persons world as well.
I have just crossed the DMZ to engage the man next to me. He is a Saudi by nationality – not French, and lives in Dubai. He was most willing to talk and we have just had a most engaging discussion on Australia and his desire to vist.
When Jesus said go into all the world and engage with others, he was talking about crossing the DMZ – the no go zone between two opposing forces.
Once you have crossed the DMZ no go zone, you must then cross the DTJ – don’t talk Jesus zone. This one is no harder than the first, and I find most people are intrigued to talk with a person who shows an interest in them.
Sharing your faith is not a presentation but rather a permission for both people to be real.
Take the young lady who serves at our coffee shop. Recently she was looking down and quite sad so I enquired why. She opened up about relationship difficulties and then I had permission to tell her about my faith and offer to pray for her. People everywhere need a real relationship with Jesus and they can only find it through real people like us sharing our faith in response to their need.
Our commission from Jesus is to go into all peoples worlds and engage them in open and honest interaction. From there permission will come to share your faith in response to their revealed needs.
It sure makes life more interesting when it is a constant mission to go into all the world and share your faith. SJP
