And yet, and yet…

I don’t enjoy random conversations with people on airplanes (way too close sitting in the seat next to me, but that’s my introvert neurosis), but I love listening to other people have weird conversations.

The other day on a flight that I had strategically planned to have no one else on my row, I overheard a poor flight attendant get into a conversation with a dude in the back that went from Native American culture to…well, something else.

I’ll give you the flyover:

He started by talking about some cultural councils he’d sat on and some of the interesting things that were there. The flight attendant (poor woman) then asked a follow up question as though she wanted to learn more. Big mistake. The guy then launched into a whole discussion about alchemy and how ancient magic has been changed, and that Jesus was an alchemist, and that the pyramids were the intersection lines of the divine feminine and masculine and that Jesus knew something about things underneath them and he knew it because he’d been to Egypt and taken an alchemy class, and if she’d just let him have her email address, he could send her the link to the video for the course he teaches (only $100, because he has to cover expenses), and just put it there, and aren’t you interested in learning more about the conspiracy theories of the Illuminati (which are totally real) as well as Masons and…

Then the flight sound dinged and the flight attendant absolutely hightailed it to the front of the plane. Way to go.

Here’s the thought: it’s amazing to me that in our world people can latch on to a belief system as bizarre, stilted, and unfounded as all that. Equally amazing to me that we think people will not be willing or able to engage with the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. I think when it comes to sharing our faith, we get intimidated because we don’t know everything regarding theology and doctrine. But here’s the deal: the thief on the cross knew one thing, that Jesus was Lord. And from that Paradise was opened to him.

So friend when you feel like you might make a mistake in sharing your faith, recognize that you won’t do it in a wrong way. If you honestly and slowly and compassionately share about how Jesus has changed your heart, no breath is wasted. You may not see the person with you receive Jesus in that moment, but your obedience is the water for the gospel to grow. As many business consultants say, Success is 90% showing up. As believers, 90% of faithful evangelism is showing up and speaking honestly about Jesus has done for us.

Let’s be the aroma of life for a dying world.

Signs and wonders y’all.

¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:15-17