(Miss part 1? Read it here)
"A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ." The verse was Galatians 2:16, and on the exact topic, we had just been discussing. "What does this verse mean?" She asked me. "Is there a reason that this verse was on my grocery bag? Do you think there's a reason you're sitting next to me on the plane right now?" She looked into my eyes and waited for my response. I could hardly believe what had just happened. -- Evidently, the Lord had caused our paths to cross this Friday afternoon on the airplane. I couldn't have orchestrated such circumstances myself. Just moments earlier, the two of us had been talking about how God ordained all things and how there was no such thing as a coincidence. She believed all things happened for a reason... But this? I smiled at her and nodded my head, "Yes, there is a reason. Though I don't know you or everything about your situation, God does.” Just then, I glanced over to my left at a young high school-aged boy standing in the aisle of the plane reaching in the overhead compartments for something in his bag. His back was to us and on the back of his shirt was a Bible verse. I quickly got the attention of the girl sitting next to me and told her to read his shirt. Her face showed the shock that she felt. "Whoa," she replied. "What? There has to be a reason for all of this! Do you think there is?" The verse on the back of the boy's shirt was one I unfortunately cannot remember, but it was very similar to Matthew 14:27, (if it wasn't that verse itself): "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Earlier in our conversation, the two of us had been discussing the topic of fear and anxiety. I can only imagine how much this single verse resonated with her, and that was only a part of what God was doing in her life! I glanced over and said, "I think God is trying to get your attention. There is a reason why all of these things are happening and so close together." We talked a little bit more then I gave her some time to think to herself about everything that had just transpired. Later, I asked her this question: "So we know that works and human traditions don't save us and that even our good works are as filthy rags - dirty dishcloths in God’s sight - according to the Book of Isaiah in the Bible. Well, as this verse says (pointing to the picture she still had pulled up on her phone of Gal. 2:16), we cannot be justified or made righteous by the works of the law. Do you know what justification means?” She had a different definition of the word justification than I did and even then, she was a little uncertain of what it meant. One of the best parts of this discussion was biblically defining it for her and seeing the “lightbulb go off.” The verse suddenly made more sense. I continued, “God requires complete righteousness and holiness to have eternal life and not be under His wrath. Since no man is righteous, all have fallen short of God's glory, and we can’t be made right with Him by our works, what then?" "That's a good question," she responded. "What then... Yeah, that wouldn’t work." We put a pause on our discussion for that moment. I could tell she was thinking, and I felt as if I left her on a cliffhanger. I honestly didn't know where God would lead. After we were doing our own personal things on the airplane for a little bit, she initiated conversation again. I used that opportunity to ask her what her conclusion was on my previous question. She thought for a moment while looking down and replied, "I don't know…" It was then that I got to share the gospel with her. I explained to her the need for an advocate - someone to stand in the way between the just judge and the guilty to bear their punishment. Using the courthouse analogy seemed to make sense to her and she listened intently. I was able to explain to her from Scripture who Jesus was, what He had done, and how man (because of their sin against a Holy God), needed a perfect Savior to do what they could not. It was truly evident that the Holy Spirit was present in our conversation and was working in her life already to bring her to Himself. Her response when I finished explaining was both very genuine and thankful. Yet at that point, I didn't sense that she recognized the urgency or need for Christ at that very moment. Previously she had described religion as something to "fall back upon" when things got difficult in life. I got the feeling that she didn't have a well-developed view of life after death and eternity, and that seemed to be the cause for the hesitancy she was experiencing. The next question I asked her was, "Do you believe in heaven?" She replied, "I don't know. I think I do. But then that'd mean I'd have to believe in hell too and if I believed in that it'd affect the entire way, I'd live my life now and would affect everything. I don't want to live like that, so I just don't know. I suppose I can't believe in one and not the other. I wish I could know if heaven existed for sure..." "Would you like to know?" I asked. Shock appeared on her face again. "Yes! But I also don't know if I'm going there..." "Would you like to know that too?" "I can know that?!" she replied. Her honesty surprised me more than once in this conversation, but that moment seemed to top it all. I started in Scripture and told her how God's Word is the absolute truth and my foundation in life. She was aware that I'd be answering from Scripture, and she was anxiously waiting for what it had to say. I responded to her uncertainty with the biblical facts of both heaven and hell existing and the reality of one or the other being experienced after death. She then continued, "I'm sure this sounds really weird... But I'm scared of death, you know? Is that weird?" "No! Not weird at all." I responded. "It makes perfect sense to be afraid of it if you are still under judgment and God's wrath and don't have that advocate we talked about. The wages of sin is death, and because every human being ever to live, me included, has majorly sinned against God, we deserve to die and spend an eternity in hell because of our sin against God. Even one sin is enough to condemn us. Hell is what we deserve and what we'll all experience without Christ. I used to be afraid of death too. Then I had confidence in Jesus and what He did for me, and I understood that His righteousness became my own because of what He did, not because of anything that I did. By believing in Jesus and trusting Him, His righteousness becomes your own, you can be confident too and you won’t have to be afraid of death anymore." Our life could end at any moment (as we both mentioned, this reality was closer to the forefront of our minds in being on an airplane). Unless our trust and hope are in Christ, we will all perish. But because of Christ, we have the guarantee of an eternity spent with Him. As I concluded with the girl sitting next to me that day, "It's the best thing that could ever happen.” I would have been content if we had ended our conversation right there but we continued talking off and on up until the time the plane landed. We walked down to baggage claim together and it was there that we departed. "Thank you again for everything," she said. "I really needed that. Thank you." So what is my conclusion in all of this? You may never know the ways in which God will use a single Bible verse in the lives of others. Though I may never know myself, after this witnessing experience, I learned it’s something to never underestimate. All Glory Be to Christ, Hannah Kohner
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AuthorHello, I'm Hannah and I'm so glad you're here! I'm a twenty-year-old Jesus-loving writer, National Bible Bee Alumna, and homeschool graduate. Jesus redeemed me, and now I give my life, and this blog, to serve Him. Hebrews 3:13 reminds us to encourage each other daily, lest we be hardened by sin. I hope that reading each blog entry that I post you will be encouraged and challenged to become more like Christ daily. |