Urban Reformation

The company I work for sent me to Detroit, Michigan this week, I arrived home late last evening. I brought with me my bible, and two Jim Elliff Books, “Pursuing God—A Seeker’s Guide“.

I remember about 6 years ago I went on a missions trip to ‘El Valle’ Mexico, near Culiacán, Mexico. During that trip I prayed that God would sit me next to someone whom I could tell about the Missions trip, needless to say it did not happen. My knowledge of the bible at the time was new, my view of God was small, my understanding was dim. I say all this to note that on that trip to ‘El Valle’ there wasn’t one person who sat next to me on any of my plane rides, in which I was able to share Christ.

I had not traveled much since that time, and this time I was traveling for work. I prayed to the Lord, “please grant me the opportunity to share Christ with someone on this trip.” It was a different prayer than the one several years back, I can’t really describe it but the motives were different. I remember looking back, of desiring in my heart to tell someone what “I” was doing. I realize now that in my desiring to tell someone about the missions trip I did not have God in mind, I wanted people to think well of me. This our heart, this is mine, and I thank God that he did not see fit to let me make a fool of myself to tell anyone what a good person I am for going on this Missions trip. May God forgive the vanity of the heart, and the pointing of me to myself, this flesh is so wicked at times and its motives are so ego-centric it can be overwhelming when he allows you to see glimpses of your depravity, however this time it was not about me.

This time God saw fit to answer, because He had matured me and helped me realize that I am nothing but a tool in the hands of God if He allows it.

I met a man flying through Detroit. He was from Belgium originally, but living in New York, named Dirk. I did not catch his last name but we had an opportunity to talk about Christ. He belongs to a Heretical Church called the Unification Church. We began the conversation about politics, but he saw my bible and we soon moved to spiritual things. I confess I knew little of the Unification Church at the time, but I could tell it was in the realm of all roads lead to Rome theology by the things this man was saying little did I know how far away this church is from Christ. We both discussed our perspectives, and this gentleman seemed generally interested, yet seemingly forming his opinions based upon only his own experiences and the things that he had heard about Christ and the things that his church taught but he knew very little about the bible.

He conceded to me that there must be an absolute truth but that we can not know that truth. Then he proceeded to tell me that the meanings of words are put into the words by the reader and not by the writer. So we went over some basic things, some scripture. I went through with him 1 Corinthians 1:18 and he said there is truth in this but he’s not sure what it means. I said to the man that we are all subjective beings but God is the one who put meaning into the Word of God and it is his Objective truth that we must bring to our subjective understandings. It is the the responsibility of man to those who understand and have been chosen by God to conform out lives to the meaning that God has placed in scripture crucifying the flesh and checking all the time our motives in our understanding and grasping at the revelation of Christ because ultimately it is God who grants us wisdom and understanding. I asked him some other questions, so what then saves you? He replied referring to the scale system, if he does enough good in this life then he will be saved, and we went to the 10 commandments. We spoke of breaking one law breaks them all and the whole purpose of Christ was to pay the penalty for the wrath that I deserve. He seemed generally intrigued as if he’s never had this type of conversation before, things he had never heard before. The plane began to land and I explained the essentials of Christianity and that if we deviate from belief in Christ and this Christ that we are following a Christ not depicted in the Holy Scriptures. There were no professions of Faith, there was no immediate conversion, but God ordained this plane seat for Dirk and I to meet. I left him with the Jim Elliff book, and we parted ways. As he got off the plane the man forgot his laptop. I brought it up out of the plane and found him, as he was catching a connecting flight, and he said, “Thank you so much Jason you’re my savior.” I said, “No it’s not me Dirk.” —- It was a God moment, I know no other way to explain it but I chewed on this much of the week.

As I prayed this time, giving thanks to God for this opportunity, God reminded me of the time where I had prayed to him before, when I was asking Him for someone to sit by me on the trip to ‘El Valle’. It was as if God was saying to me, ” This is for my Glory Jason and not your own, you are only a tool in my hands, and before you were not prepared for such an encounter.” I remembered and prayed and confessed my sinful prayer before and how it was so much more about me before and how I hear my father’s reproof once again. He is so Good and so Merciful to put up with a pathetic sinner such as myself, but then he said one other thing to me this weekend, he reminded me of Romans 5:8

—– I don’t know how to explain it but this was God’s way this weekend of demonstrating to me how much he loves me, God shares His glory with no one, and when it is about Him, for Him, and by Him he allows us to be the means, to share in His Goodness. I am still amazed by His Grace.

I have more to tell from the KC to Detroit trip I will write on at a later time, quite the adventure for a three day trip!

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