Imperishable Inheritance

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)

I had always read such passages and thought that I would never run into someone who noticed "love" as the identifier for being a disciple of Jesus. This changed when I met my conversation partner this last year from China. I am not going to reveal his name for concerns of his safety, but I know that God has his name written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

We began talking, and he expressed a very serious interest in Christianity. He started attending a church and found answers there that he was searching for. Our weekly lunches were saturated with things of the Gospel. He wanted to engage me and ask serious questions. He struggled with the Trinity (who doesn't?), and he began flushing out a postmodern relativism that he had embraced for years. It was two months before I asked him about making a decision for Jesus, and boy did I get a surprising answer!

He told me that he decided to become a Christian before we started talking! I was noticing an incredible amount of spiritual fruit, and I feel bad that I didn't recognize what was so evident. I was so worried about making sure he understood all the basics of the Gospel that I forgot to actually ask him if he believed it! When I asked him later what attracted him to Christianity he exclaimed that it was the peace, happiness, and the love the Christians had for one another that intrigued him. It made that passage above come alive!

The last night we spent together I went over a passage from Matthew 10 explaining the persecution that awaits him, and 1 Corinthians 15 about the bodily resurrection that he has to look forward to. He was worried that he would go back to China and "fall away," but I was elated to tell him that no one would snatch him out of the Father's hand (John 10:29). That is good news indeed.

I wanted to help him to begin the life of being a Godly father and husband, but alas I am ill-equipped to disciple him in these areas. I could only point him to passages that speak to the matter and trust that the Lord will work a miracle in him through His Spirit. I miss him, but I'm elated to know that at the final trumpet I will see him again worshiping the Lamb.