Strolling through a large mall I stopped at a kiosk to look at the merchandise and began talking to the salesperson. He had only been in the U.S. for about 3 months, arriving from the Middle East to pursue a degree at a local college. As we were talking about his family, studies, and career, it came up that he was a Muslim but he had attended a church here in the area. As we continued the conversation he said he also was a Christian, which intrigued me so I asked him what he thought it meant to be a Christian. Basically his understanding was that since he had been to church, that made him a Christian. I have learned from other conversations it is always best not to assume what someone means by the word Christian, so I try to remember to ask what their understanding of a Christian might be. This gave me a great opportunity to share the gospel and what Jesus meant when He said to “follow Him.”
The simplest definition is one who believes that Jesus is who He said He is and did what the gospels say He did and is a follower of Jesus and His teachings. Jesus made it clear when He said to the Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. … Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:3, 6, NIV). Born again means literally to be “born from above”- a spiritual rebirth.
I left my new friend some material and was able to follow up with him the following week. He said he had been reading some of the material and was thinking about what we had discussed. I continue to pray for him as he seeks to find the truth in Jesus Christ our Savior.