What can be finer than getting up at 3:20 AM to catch a 6:00 AM flight? Well, that’s exactly what I got to do recently, flying from Hamburg, Germany, to Riga, Latvia, to attend a one-week in-person Intensive with our international seminary students at Luther Academy. So, I climbed into my taxi. At that wee hour there was no traffic whatsoever. The cabbie wondered whether I was flying for pleasure or business. I told him I am a missionary and work with migrants from Iran and Afghanistan. “Hmm…,” he replied, “there are certainly enough of them around.” “Yes,” I answered, “but I’m not a social worker. My job is to tell them about Jesus Christ. And many of them are embracing Christianity.” “Hmmm….” “Islam is a very legalistic religion, and many people are fed up with it, especially Muslim women who are treated like third-class citizens. Germany is doing a great job providing Persian migrants with shelter and funds—in addition to now helping hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. But what’s amazing about the Persians is that here in Germany they have access to churches that proclaim the liberating message of the Gospel. Jesus says, ‘If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’ [Jn 8:36].” “Hmm…” After a long pause, “What airline are you flying?” “Lufthansa.” “That’s Terminal 1.” A few seconds later he pulled up to the curb. “Credit or cash?” “Credit,” I replied. “Have a good rest of your shift.” “Thanks, see you next time,” he replied. To be sure, this cabbie was not extremely talkative, nor did he not pick up on my Christianity topic. But that’s irrelevant. As Christians, our job is not to sell the Gospel but simply to tell the Good News. Any “selling” is up to the Holy Spirit. But we can be sure that whenever the Holy Spirit prompts us to share the Gospel, “the Word shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in that thing for which I sent it” [Isa 55:11].
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