You Look Familiar!

4/20/14             Augustin               about 50
Yesterday, the day between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, I was at a park where I often reach out to share the Gospel. An approaching father, young daughter in a stroller, looked very familiar to me so I asked where I knew him from. He thought I looked familiar too but as it turned out we had never met before! However, this all made a good conversation starter and we went on talk for quite a while. Augustin, about 50, has remarried after having lost his first wife to an aneurism. She died suddenly in the middle of talking with him. He has recently lost his parents also, and has now concluded there is no existence after we die, even though he still believes in God. He seems happy with his new daughter and spoke lovingly of his new wife, who has him going back to the Catholic church despite his unbelief in life after death. He had some good questions, first about the difference between Catholics and Protestants, so I just pointed to the authority of the Bible as God’s word rather than the traditions of man. He agreed and we went on to talk about what the Bible does say. As I shared the Gospel there was a definite “aha!” moment when I explained the meaning of the cross, that Jesus had died in our place and paid the penalty we owe for our sins. He will be in his church this morning, with his family. I encouraged him to look at the cross in a new way, with a new understanding of what it represents. He was so grateful for the conversation, I’ve already received my reward. What a privilege to have such Good News to share! But I also can’t help but think forward to another reward, to the possibility that someday on a sidewalk in heaven, I’ll be walking along and see someone who looks very familiar, someone I’ve talked to before, someone named Augustin! Happy Easter everyone! Jesus is risen!