I boarded the plane in the Portland airport weary after a long day. \u201c11pm. That\u2019s 2am at home. No wonder I\u2019m beat!\u201d I put my pack in the overhead compartment, my computer bag under the seat in front of me, pulled out my earplugs and eyemask, and prepared for some much-needed sleep on the cross-country flight.<\/p>\n
I glanced at the thirtyish man sharing the row of three seats with me. \u201cHi, my name is Coty.\u201d He smiled. \u201cI\u2019m Jacob.\u201d As he looked me in the eye, I quickly saw that God had other plans than sleep for this flight. After going through the normal pleasantries \u2013 Are you going home or leaving home? What\u2019s the purpose of your trip? \u2013 Jacob began to share about his spiritual growth in the last few years. Through yoga and meditation, he had grown in his self-discipline, in his ability to deal with disappointment. He had simplified his life, eating well, cutting out TV and other distractions; in work, he now focused on flexible jobs that he greatly enjoyed. This enabled him to save enough money to travel to Sri Lanka recently and spend several months at a meditation center. He rises every morning and spends an hour doing yoga and meditating \u2013 and that time then flavors his entire day. He was happy, well-adjusted, and excited about his spiritual life \u2013 so excited he wanted to share that with others.<\/p>\n
He was also interested in me, and was a good listener. He asked probing questions, and wanted to know about my own spiritual journey.<\/p>\n
My body was screaming for sleep. If he spoke more than a minute at a time, it was hard for me to stay focused. I tried to maintain eye contact and prayed, \u201cLord, don\u2019t let me fall asleep while he\u2019s talking!\u201d I could hardly think straight. When Jacob made the classic pluralist statement, saying how he was on one path to God and I was on another, but we were both going the same place, I couldn\u2019t even remember the reference for \u201cI am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.\u201d (It\u2019s John 14:6, by the way.)<\/p>\n
So I continued to pray silently. \u201cLord, my brain had checked out. Yet you\u2019ve placed me here with Jacob. Help me to acknowledge the temporal benefit he has gained through self-discipline. But then open up to him Who You are. Help me to turn to passages of Your Word that will be helpful. Use your mighty Word in His life. It\u2019s more apparent than usual that I can do nothing. Be at work for Your glory, in spite of my weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
We spoke for three hours. We went through all of Psalm 77 together, and most of John 8. I spoke of the genuine but limited value of physical self-discipline, of God\u2019s authority over us as His creation, of our rebellion against Him and thus our guilt, of Christ\u2019s incarnation, perfect life, and sacrificial death; of our need to respond to Him. God, man, Christ, response. Even half-asleep, I could remember those four words.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t remember much of the specifics of what I said \u2013 most of the discussion is a sleepy blur. I\u2019m sure when I spoke rather than read the Word, I was far from eloquent. There were undoubtedly better ways to address Jacob. But God put me in a place to serve as His ambassador. In my weakness, I prayed, opened my mouth, and opened the Word. In this encounter, weak as I was, I was faithful.<\/p>\n
Two lessons I want to take away from this:<\/p>\n
First: Look for such occasions. In this case, I perceived early on that Jacob would listen, and I abandoned my plans for the flight. In how many other cases do I blindly stick to my plan, and miss the opportunity to be Christ\u2019s ambassador?<\/p>\n
Second: Jacob is highly self-disciplined in order to achieve the temporal satisfactions that come from yoga and empty meditation. Should I not be at least as self-disciplined in turning to the riches of God\u2019s Word and the joy of relating to God the Father through Jesus Christ?<\/p>\n