The Word is great, the commission is clear and Christ has prevailed

It was a crowded flight back from Indiana and the Cross missions conference, I was tired and wished I didn't have to sit in the middle seat, but with the late check in I knew I would have no choice.

I ended up sitting in between a nine year old boy and a young adult girl (I will call them Mary and John, not their real names). At first I thought they were siblings because they were talking, and I even tried to see if Mary wanted to sit in the middle seat, to be with her brother, I thought to myself, but she said no.

As I talked to them I discovered that they were not siblings and that John was traveling alone, but they both had one thing in common--they are children from divorced parents. Mary said she started flying alone at nine as well. They seemed to accept this situation, after all, they have no choice; but it's really a heart breaking situation.

Mary eventually put on her ear phones, so I was left with John. I really felt compelled to share the gospel with this boy, especially when I pulled out my Bible. He said, "you've got a book, what kind of a book is this?" I told him that this was the Bible and asked him if he ever read it, and he shook his head.

In between tic tac toe and Monopoly games we talked and for the next two to three hours I discovered how smart he was. At one point I asked him if he had a good Christmas and if he got lots of gifts; the answer was, "It was okay but I didn't get many gifts because I was with my dad," who he lives with full time. I asked if he knew what we celebrate on Christmas; he thought for a long minute and asked, "The birth of Jesus?" I was impressed, and since he new about this I asked if he knew why Jesus had to be born. He shook his head.

I prayed, "Lord this is my chance, help me not to mess this up and present You clearly," so I told him that about two thousand years ago before Jesus was born, God created the earth and everything in it, including mankind. I went through the fall of men and told him that the wages of sin is death, and that's the reason Jesus was born, Jesus came to the earth to die for our sins because He is the only man who never sinned. Jesus was the only one qualified for that job.

I knew he was listening and desperately wanted to leave him something that would make him remember this conversation which could be crucial for his life. I went through my whole back pack and wished I had a pocket New testament because leaving my Bible might get him into trouble or just get thrown away. I found nothing but a bookmark presenting the 5fish app (which can teach anyone about Jesus and His salvation in over 6000 languages,) so gave it to him and told him that he could use it in his books, and that he could find the same story about Jesus I told him earlier in many other languages.

I did not have a dramatic conversion to Christianity; I understood Jesus' sacrifice for me when I was eight in a Christian camp, and  there is a chance that John might just have that kind of conversion; but there is a bigger chance that John, in his godless environment, might never be exposed to the gospel again.

While we pray for this sweet little boy, let's seize all the opportunities God puts before us and use the resources and abilities we have through the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Great Commission commanded to us all.