We exited the cab, entered the building, headed to the third floor and took a seat in the waiting room. We would then wait another two hours for our meeting. It was a bit strange as our meeting had been pushed up an hour, but did not actually begin until an hour after the original scheduled time. I think perhaps that the reason for the schedule change was actually the cab ride itself.
I was in LA with my daughter for some meetings. We headed to the lobby to call a cab but when we reached the lobby there was one that just happened to be waiting already, having just dropped off another guest. We got in the cab and were greated by a very friendly cabi of South Asian descent. We began to chat first about family, then specifically children, and seeing as my daughter was with me, about school. I mentioned that we homeschooled which always leads to why, which leads to my son's illness in 2008 and our decision to try it for a year while we went through all the unknowns. This of course leads to conversations about how he is now and as I was sharing the details, the difficulty or his tumour, the amazing team of surgeons etc. I felt compelled to also bear witness to how we saw God work. I simply mentioned that there was a lot of prayer and that we are so thankful for how we saw God answer our prayers as He worked in and through the surgeons and beyond. The cabi then asked about our religion to which I shared that we were followers of Jesus. I asked him in return and he shared that he was Muslim.
He shared his opinion that our two religions where the closet related out of the world religions. It was here that I was thankful with my time spent with my friend Mike Hampton who has been a missionary to Muslim background peoples. I was able to speak of the things that the Koran says about Jesus. We spoke of the third Sura and the affirming of the Virgin birth amoung other things. He shared with me that in order to be a faithful Muslim, he had to believe in Jesus but that, and I love the way he put this, we took it one step further. What he meant, of course, is that more than just a prophet, we believe Jesus was the divine, one and only Son of God. I imagine that we would also disagree about the details and significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. These, of course, are fundamental differences with eternal life and death significance and thus our faith systems, although having some touchpoints, are not actually the same at all. Again, I remebered a story that my friend Mike had shared with me. I told my new friend that I had not come to faith until I was 19, and that I don't take the teachings for granted. I have looked at the teachings of different faiths in my searching. I mentioned learning that the Koran refers to Jesus as the "Kalimah Allah," meaning "Word or Message of God" while calling Mohammed the "Messanger." I asked myself what was more important the message or messanger. I came to the conclusion that the message was more important and that lead me to specifically spend time with the words of Jesus that are in the gospels. As I shared this last thought, we arrived at our destination.
Thank you very much for the conversation" the cabi said, "and I will be sure to look into what you shared! Thank you again."
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