Okay, Tell Me about God!

Matt N. Lundquist
Oct 5, 2016
3 min read

When I first saw him pass by my table in the Student Center, I was talking to someone else. I thought he didn't hear me when I attempted to call him over, or maybe he was just ignoring me.

It had been a slow day. I was talking to "one last person" and it happened that she was from one of the churches I had spoken in, years ago, in Vancouver. That was cool!

But now I was packing up, and soon after she left, he returned.

"Okay," he began, "tell me about God."

"Well," I began, taking a deep breath, "the God who made the world and everything in it . . . has revealed Himself through Creation, in the Scriptures, and in the person of Jesus Christ!"

His name was Y_____ and though he spoke perfect English, he was from Iraq. His family fled from there to Saudi Arabia 23 years ago (he must have been an infant or toddler).

They lived in a refugee camp until they were chosen by "lottery" to be sponsored by a family here and immigrate to the Seattle area. He seemed most grateful for the opportunities afforded him here in the U.S. - especially education.

I don't remember all his questions, but I know he asked, "What is Love?"

"Love is caring about someone else as much or more than you care about yourself."

"Can humans really love, or do we need God's Love to enable us?"

I quoted one of my favorite songwriters, Rich Mullins:

"We didn't know what Love was till He came, and He gave Love a face and he gave Love a name and He gave Love away like the sky gives rain & sun. We were looking for heroes, He came looking for the lost, we were looking for glory and he showed us the cross. Now we know what love is cuz He loved us!"

"How can we escape the corruption of this culture, with it's violence and lack of concern?"

I suggested that what we need is "Intentional, Redemptive, Relationships!"

"Intentional: because we must always have in mind our purpose - to bring glory to God. Redemptive: because the world is sick and broken, needing to be healed & restored. Relationships: because this is the context God has given us for learning to love and applying His remedy for our sin problems."

My new friend then asked, "How do we keep from treating other people as objects, rather than real persons?"

I referred to a Jewish Philosopher named Martin Buber, who tells us that when we look another person right in the eyes, and acknowledge they are experiencing consciousness just as we are, that we share a moment in the "Now." This moment, having no quantity or duration, cannot be remembered like the past or imagined like the future, but only experienced in the present. Buber calls this "The Eternal Now" because it gives us a window into the truth that we are immortal souls!

"Yes!" he said. "I believe that is true!"

Then he began looking for a pen and paper. "What was that philosopher's name?"

"I'll tell you what. You give me your number and I'll text the name for you, so you'll have it."

He did and now we can stay in touch.

Pray for my relationship with this new friend. We're having lunch tomorrow.