Cab Driver #1 - Lindo, a Filipino Catholic
I had a taxi pick me up from the Firestone where I had just dropped off my minivan. I introduced myself to the driver, and he introduced himself to me as Lindo. Noticing his accent (and Asian ethnicity), I asked him where he was from. He told me he was from the Philippines, and we talked a little bit about his family and his journey from the Philippines to the US. Feeling God's call for me to evangelize and to share the love of Christ with him, I tried to bring up religion so we could converse about it. I said, "It just so happens that a lot of my Filipino friends are Catholic. Why is that?" He then gave me an interesting little history about how the Spanish colonization of the Philippines was the root cause of the spread of Catholicism there, and that most of the people, especially the poor, converted to Christianity, but that many of the people, especially the rich, remained Muslim. I asked him if he considered himself a Catholic, and he said that he was indeed a practicing Catholic and that he went to Sunday masses at St. Francis.
The biggest shock and the craziest story happened when I asked him if there were still Muslims in the Philippines. He told me that religious tension is extremely high in the Philippines, and that his dad and his brother were actually shot to death by Muslims. He said that there was a business deal gone wrong (or something like that) and the two different groups - one Catholic and one Muslim, started shooting at each other, and his dad and brother were killed in the gunfight. Interestingly, he also proudly declared, "My brother took down two Muslims with him." He told me that everyone in the Philippines carried around guns for safety, and he talked about how the violence and religious conflict and the Philippines reminded him of the wild, wild west. He also told me that his family wouldn't let him go back for his dad and brother's funerals because it was too dangerous for him, and he actually hasn't been back to the Philippines since he first came to the United States, around 13 years ago.
This entire conversation was really sobering to me. Not only did I not know the Philippines had such religious violence, but hearing it directly from someone who has experienced the pain of the violence first-hand really moved me. I could hear the hatred in his voice when he talked about Muslims, the pain in his voice when he talked about his father and brother, and the pride in his voice when he talked about his brother killing two Muslims. Around the end of the conversation, when we were talking about the endless cycle of murder and revenge and the necessity of vengeance, I said, "If Jesus was here, this probably isn't what he would do", to which he said, "Well, there isn't much else we can do."
I won't forget my conversation with Lindo for a very long time.
Cab Driver #2 - Abas, a Pakistani Muslim
After landing back in Detroit after the interview in Fort Wayne, I found a cab to take me back to Ann Arbor. Because I had just spent a bunch of time soaked in the Word and in prayer, I felt more keenly God's heart for the unsaved, and I made a big effort to share the Gospel with my cab driver. I introduced myself to my driver, and he introduced himself to me as Abas. Noticing his heavy accent, I asked him where he was from, and he told me that he was from Pakistan. We talked a little about his family and Pakistan in general, and then I basically pulled the same move on Abas as I did Lindo, and I asked him, "From what I know, most people from Pakistan are Muslim. Is this true?" He identified himself as a Muslim, and then I identified myself as a Christian, and I asked him, "What do Muslims in general and you personally believe about Jesus?" This kicked off a long conversation about the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity, ranging from talking about Jesus' divinity to what heaven is going to look like.
Abas seemed to hold a very confident, steadfast and unwavering, but somewhat unschooled Islamic faith. None of what I said about Jesus or Christianity seemed to move him at all, and he didn't seem to consider in his mind anything that I said. However, I got the awesome opportunity of indeed sharing the Gospel with a Muslim that may or may not have heard it before first-hand from a Christian. I got to hear his arguments against Christianity and explore some of the lesser-known beliefs of Muslims. I was convicted by Abas' firm belief in who he believed his god to be, and I was encouraged by the revelation that our God, the saving God of the Bible, is so much greater than the god Abas believed in. God revealed to me through our conversation some of the key advantages that the Christian faith has over Islam (or at least the beliefs that Abas held).
This was made the most clear to me when we started talking about heaven. After asking Abas about the safety of Pakistan, he told me that it was only dangerous for the poor, and that the rich in the country were perfectly safe. I talked a little bit about the Christian belief that God was going to redeem and restore all of creation, and I described heaven a little, in the hopes that Abas would catch the wonderful aroma of the kingdom of God. From my point of view, he didn't. Instead, Abas started talking about his idea of heaven, which basically included everlasting life without death and a mansion for everyone (I really need to get Pastor Chuck to teach me how to describe the coming kingdom in an awe-inspiring, heart-inflaming sort of way). I asked Abas, "How do you know if you are going to heaven?" Abas replied, "I don't." He later elaborated and said that the more bad things a person does, the longer he needs to "wait" before being allowed into heaven. I told him that as a Christian, I could confidently say without a shadow of a doubt that if I died right there, that I would go to heaven to be with God. I went on to describe the doctrines of Christ's sacrificial atonement and our redemption through his blood. Abas sort of just shrugged off my description and went back to talking about how important it is to be a good person. I wasn't really able to bridge the gap between moralism and Gospel in the short time that we had together, and it was hard to "demote" moralism without making it seem like holiness and goodness isn't important to Christians.
Abas has chosen a doctrine of moralism, believing in an unreasonable, insatiable God. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving transgression and iniquity and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the father on the children, and the children's children, and ultimately casting those iniquities on His own Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins as a ransom for many. I can say confidently that one day, I will see God. I can say confidently that there won't be any "waiting time" that I will need to suffer punishment after I die before I go to meet my Maker. I can say confidently that my sins have been forgiven, and that I am not in charge of my own salvation. Abas doesn't have these luxuries.
The lessons I've learned from my time with Abas will stick with me for a long time.
Psalm 67:3
"Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!"
Psalm 95:1-3
Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
Another awesome encounter with a complete stranger:
"I promise I'll read it"
Another awesome encounter with a complete stranger:
"I promise I'll read it"
