People Stories - Elevator Friend

One day while riding the elevator to our apartment, we chatted with a man who asked the usual questions of where we’re from, how long we’ve lived here, and what do we do.  We often answer by telling our focus for internationals in the city. This particular time when we told him, he responded by saying “I’ve always wanted to know more about Christianity. I want to know more so I can help my son when he asks.” Wow, not often does a person voice a curiosity so easily.

Since this week is a holiday week, he invited us to his home for tea. Over numerous cups of black tea, green tea, sunflower seeds, and grapes, we chatted for several hours about the Truth, the Message, and the emptiness of our hearts. Like so many, he has come to believe that there is more to life than earning lots of money, buying lots of things, and gaining lots of honors. Our new friend expressed the emptiness of heart that comes even as he pursues those things. He fears that his son will also discover an empty heart while pursuing all the pleasures of life.  He wants to prepare to share Christianity with his son while he is still a preteen, before he reaches the rebellious teen years and turns away from all that his parents stand for.

Rarely have we met a man so ripe for seeking the Truth. We explained the Message of Hope, drew pictures diagramming the four parts – the message about God, man, Jesus, and our response of faith and repentance. We left him with the Good Book, a study book, and Exploring Life (aka Ultimate Questions). Mark hopes to meet with him regularly in the next few weeks to talk.

This fall Mark began a series through 1 Corinthians and this past Sunday taught through 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, part of which reads

¹¹ No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. ¹² And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

¹³ When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.  ¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. (NLT)

Please pray earnestly for clarity, understanding, and God to work in this situation. Please ask the Spirit to open our friend’s heart and mind to understand the Truth and share it with his own family.