Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Airports.

Over the past few months I've spent a good amount of time in airports. I've made a few observations, socially and spiritually. 

1. Talking to people who don't want to talk is interesting and will lead to awkwardness.
2. People are very busy.
3. People who travel are always on the phone, don't think about interrupting that technological bond.
4. Business is fueled by caffeine and it would not function without it.
5. Traveling, for that matter, runs on caffeine and it would not happen without it.
6. If someone is reading a book, don't ask them what they are reading.
7. If someone is listening to music, don't ask them what they are listening to.
8. People like their space.
9. You can buy Apple products and other expensive electronic devises from "vending machines" nowadays. Just swipe your card. iPod pops out. Technology feeding technology. Sweet.
10. People in airports need Jesus too.


Some of my first points are a little cynical. I find it extremely hard to talk to people in airports. Mostly because people don't care. Maybe I am doing something wrong. Maybe I'm not praying enough or something. Every time I'm in an airport I want to talk to people about the love of Christ and how its changed my life, but often I can't even get past the initial conversation starters. So I seclude myself.  I'll admit there are sometimes when I find myself talking to someone, but its never about anything usually. Sometimes its Christians doing the same thing I want to be doing. That's always funny. But usually if I'm talking to someone, its something trivial like "Where are you heading?" or "What brings you to Minneapolis?".  The responses are typical. "Business, Vacation, etc."  Quick, one word answers don't start conversations. 

Because of its difficulty, I cut off communication inside the airport/plane. I stuck my headphones in, kept my nose in a book, and became one of the disconnected masses. I felt slightly convicted of this, but to be quite honest I got in the same mentality..."I'm traveling, leave me alone, I don't want to talk....etc". 

But I have a message that will save their lives. I have a relationship with the Creator of the world who would die to rescue me from being eternally separated from Him.  That should change how I talk to people or think about talking to people in a public setting.  I can't just sit back and wait for someone to come up to me and ask me about "religion". Here's the problem... I wish I was someone like my grandaddy. He was the kind of guy who could sit down next to someone and within 5 minutes they would be having a great conversation and he would be making them laugh hysterically. I love those kind of people. But I am not one of those people. I will never walk into a room full of people I don't know and leave with 15 friends. It's just not in the cards for me, and I'm totally okay with that. However, I can no longer use that as an excuse when it comes to evangelism. Unfortunately, I'm still trying to figure out how to effectively use my personality to spread the Gospel. I wish I could walk up to anyone I see and tell them about the love of Christ. Does that say something about me? 

The truth is I need to conquer this fear. I need to realize that it is inevitable that in a crowd that large there are people dying inside. The stench of death is always around. There are people who have spent their entire lives searching for something. Most likely they have no clue where to find the answers to the questions in their life that they avoid. Jesus loves those people just as much as he loves me. He died for them as well and they need to know. Their blinded eyes are longing to be opened and it is a crying shame if I sit around and let the lost continue to be lost. 



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