My previous job had me traveling around the world, and that gave me an airline rewards status which automatically puts me on a waiting list for First Class when I fly. I rarely actually get First Class, so it was a huge blessing and surprise when my flight from San Diego to Boston was upgraded an hour before takeoff. I soon found out why.
I had been preparing a sermon from Colossians 4:2-3:
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ…
The night before my flight, I had asked some friends to pray that God would open doors for the gospel on my trip to Salem, Massachusetts for a Halloween outreach. Those prayers were answered before the plane landed.
I sat next to Angelo, an 88-year-old man with a recently broken back. The car accident was the first of his entire life! He had lost his wife years earlier, and he now lived alone with his memories. When he told me he had taught at a Catholic Jesuit University, I prepared for an apologetic battle. But then he told me he rarely went to mass, and he didn’t like how the Catholic church taught him so much theology but no bible. He had never read the bible and didn’t know much about it. He asked me if I believe in heaven. He hoped his wife was there.
He had lived a full life as a professor, then an automobile distributor. He knew everything about every car, no exaggeration! He had a lot to say about the corruption within the Catholic church. Thankfully, I once left a “Christian” church led by disqualified pastors, so I could relate and offer empathy. I told him we need to trust in Christ, not in men who mess things up.
He asked what I did for a living. I told him I was a full-time evangelist, kind of like a pastor to people outside the church. I told him I enjoyed talking about spiritual things and I asked if I could tell him how to get to heaven. He replied, “Of course!”
The flight was 5 hours; we spent the entire time talking. He asked such basic questions; “I heard you protestants pray directly to God without going through saints. Tell me about that.”
I explained 1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
I took him through the commandments and explained the gospel. He listened attentively and at the end of it all he said, “I’m so glad I sat next to you today, this has been wonderful.”
Pray for Angelo. He did not accept Christ on that flight, but he now understands the gospel. Pray that God uses the seeds that were sown on that flight to draw him into His Kingdom.
Keep praying for God to open doors.
