Wahooo! We have a new sister in the house! She’s beautiful! 10 fingers and toes. About 63 inches long, err tall. And her English name is Natalie, because she was born again at Christmastime.
Today I was finally able, after delays of trips home and final exams, to sit down with one of our friends who 3 weeks ago responded to the gospel at one of the Christmas parties we attended at a local fellowship. After a quick lunch of something similar to wonton soup, we walked down to the local mall and found a quite table in the food court.
At the Christmas party she had enthusiastically agreed to study the bible with me, but I was nervous that either her decision had not been genuine, or that time would weaken her resolve. I was delighted to hear her describe her new relationship with God.
“Many Asian believe in…. (Here was an extensive tangent to work out translating the belief she was trying to describe) the Buddha. But I never believe in this. I can be close to Yesu (their name for Jesus), but people who believe in Buddha cannot be close to him. I can talk to Yesu, and know about him from the Bible. People who tell the Buddha about their problems, he is not close to them. But Yesu is close to me and loves me.”
As she spoke the weight of her choice was evident on her face. She knows that she is choosing to be the ideological minority. But her heart is set.
She asked me, “What have you learned since you became a Christian?” After internally chuckling over the idea of summarizing all God has taught me, I shared some of the key truths that have changed my life. As she listened her face reflected her effort to understand both my words and their implication in her life. Then she said, “Maybe I should read the Bible more.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.