Japan Journal - April 9th

I arranged to meet up with a guy for language exchange today. We had just over an hour to chat before I had to go to a meeting. Then I get an email saying he might be half an hour late. I wasn't too happy at the though of waiting arounf for half an hour and was beginning to think it would be a waste of time.

He arrived pretty much on time and we sat down to chat for a while. My friend George (an Amercian guy who's here for a few weeks) was there too and between us we had a good conversation. I invited him to the evening Bible study and he said he might come and bring some friends. We weren’t overly hopeful as most people are polite and say they’ll come, but don't actually turn up.

The evening class/study started at 7:00. At 7:15 we've got two students. All of us were more than a little disappointed. A minute later, in walks the guy and a friend of his. When it came to splitting into groups I ended up in a pair with him and we did the bible study together. Turns out this guy is not a Christian but has a friend who has been reading the Bible with him. He is interested but quite confused and has been warned by his family that Christianity is dangerous! We did the study and he asked me how we can be sure that Christianity is true and other religions are not.

I explained how Jesus said he was the only way to the father and so if Christianity is true then all other religions must be wrong. They couldn't be merged together (that's a big thing in Japan). I then described how all other religions are about doing something in order to get to God. Earning your way into heaven. Good deeds, regular prayer, reading a holy book, attending a service.

I explained how Christianity is different because God came to us and did something for us. Jesus died in our place. He's done it all, we just have to accept the free gift. I said how this made Christianity different because it’s not about being good enough for God, it’s about knowing you are not good enough.

I said that I know that I'm not good enough and that no matter what I do, I still deserved to be punished. I know I don't deserve to go to heaven. He seemed to accept what I was saying, but wasn't afraid to question me if he didn't agree. He had a great attitude.

We finished with a plan to meet again next week and the prospect of me and Alex doing a Bible study with him and his friend who came. Both non-Christians. He also seemed interested in coming along to my church with me on Sunday. That way he'll be the one who understands and I'll be the one confused! This guy already knows more about the Bible than most Japanese people. He applied to do language exchange with someone he didn’t know was a Christian and now he’s coming along to Bible studies and possibly church. It is simply amazing how God will use people to move others closer to him. One step at a time. We may never see the impact we have on others. We just need to trust that God will piece it all together using many of his servants. That way none of us can boast.