Yesterday, the Lord provided me with two opportunities to share my faith...
In the morning, while I was taking a ten-minute break while working in the kitchen, a young Muslim man approached me to ask why many Christians choose to eat pork. While in the Old Testament, he said, God told the Israelites not to eat swine. It was a reasonable question. And I know that Muslims place a lot of emphasis on their diet, and on what they can and cannot eat.
We then had a sensible discussion about the matter. I tried to explain the difference between being under the strict requirements of the Mosaic law as opposed to being under what Christians call "grace." Under the new covenant of grace, I told him, I am no longer required to live under the old law. That Christ, through His sacrificial death on the cross, fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic law and did away with it.
Later, while I was in my housing area, I spent about 25 minutes talking with a man who grew up on the island of Jamaica where, he said, he was "forced" to attend religious instruction in Catholic school. He told me he hated it, while I listened sympathetically.
And as I stood next to him while he washed his clothes, I told my Jamaican friend that God is not interested in religion. He desires to have an intimate relationship with us, I said. I then attempted to explain the difference between one who merely practices a religion as opposed to a man who has a personal relationship with his Creator. It was a spiritually fruitful day!
D.B.
We then had a sensible discussion about the matter. I tried to explain the difference between being under the strict requirements of the Mosaic law as opposed to being under what Christians call "grace." Under the new covenant of grace, I told him, I am no longer required to live under the old law. That Christ, through His sacrificial death on the cross, fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic law and did away with it.
Later, while I was in my housing area, I spent about 25 minutes talking with a man who grew up on the island of Jamaica where, he said, he was "forced" to attend religious instruction in Catholic school. He told me he hated it, while I listened sympathetically.
And as I stood next to him while he washed his clothes, I told my Jamaican friend that God is not interested in religion. He desires to have an intimate relationship with us, I said. I then attempted to explain the difference between one who merely practices a religion as opposed to a man who has a personal relationship with his Creator. It was a spiritually fruitful day!
D.B.
