I bet if Jesus would have flown on planes during his day he would take the seat next to a stranger. Of course, Jesus didn’t need to catch a flight because he could just walk across the Caribbean, but we can pretend for a moment. So while the 12 disciples were fighting over who gets the window seat or daring one another to throw something at the Pharisees in first class, I bet Jesus would look for the empty seat next to a kind old man or a soldier heading home on leave or even a punk teenager.
He would want to learn about their lives. Of course, he already knows how many hairs are on their head, so he wouldn’t need to ask where they are from or about their family, but he would probably ask anyway because he’s a gentleman and he would want to hear it from them. He would want to hear their stories from their perspective. Some people might not want to talk, but some would probably ask Jesus about his life as well.
I imagine that would be a pretty cool conversation.
“What do you do for a living?”
“Oh, me? I’m the Savior of the world! I’ve also dabbled in carpentry some.”
Anyway, I think that Jesus would seek out strangers because he knows that love isn’t on a strict schedule. He doesn’t flip a switch and turn love off when he’s not “doing ministry”. Love is 24/7.
In the bible, Jesus got interrupted on his way to do something all the time. But he didn’t care. He would be late because he stopped to care for someone along the way.
So I’m doing this thing called The World Race. 11 countries in 11 months. That’s a lot of flights. A lot of long bus rides. Days at a time between “ministry”. But God calls us to love always.
Some of my favorite memories from the past 2 months on The World Race have been just hanging out with locals or getting to know a Peace Corps volunteer or meeting strangers on planes. As a follower of Christ, I’m called to constant love and constant ministry.
I’m learning that my whole life is ministry. I’m a missionary, but when I come home I’m still called to love. Called to stop on my way to a meeting to help someone. Called to sacrificial love. Called to love like Jesus.
