Doug Nichols was at church last Sunday and he told us this story...
I was riding in a plane with a man recently, several years ago and he said. He was trying to talk to me and I’m deaf in my right ear and I couldn’t quite hear him and I was going over my notes for my message that night and I was nervous because the plane was late. And finally he said, "You’re a Christian, aren’t you?"
I looked at him and I said, "Yes, I am."
He says, "I could tell by the words on your paper. I’m a Muslim."
I said, "Yes, I know."
"How do you know?"
"Well, you look like a Muslim."
"You know," he said, "I have so much trouble going through airport security. I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think that’s fair."
I said, "Hey wait, you look like a terrorist. You know, how do you expect people to treat you?"
"What do I do?" he asked.
So I began to explain to him how to go through airport security. You take off your coat. You take off your belt. You take off your shoes. You take all the heavy items out of your pocket. You take off your watch. You try to be polite. You open your bag, You don’t cause trouble to the security people or they will treat you badly. As I was giving him these instructions, he said, "You like Muslims, don’t you?"
And I said, "Well, yes I do. We pray for you all the time."
"You pray for Muslims? What do you pray about?"
"I pray that when you die you go to heaven."
"You don’t think we’re going to heaven?"
I said, "Hey. I know you’re not going to heaven."
"Why do you say that?"
I asked him back, "Do you know you’re going to heaven?"
He said, "No, not really."
I said, "Why not?"
"Well, I don’t know if I have enough good works." He then turned to me and said, "Are you going to heaven?"
I said, "Yeah I’m going to heaven."
"How are you going to heaven?"
I said, "I’m going to heaven on good works."
He said, "What?! How do you know you have enough good works?"
I said, "See, that’s the difference. You’re trying to go to heaven on your good works and you’ll never have enough good works. I’m going to heaven on the good works of another, Jesus Christ the Son of God who God sent to this earth, who lived the perfect life, who died on the cross in my place for my sins. I’m going to heaven on the good works of Jesus Christ the Son of God who love me and gave Himself for me."
He said, "I didn’t know that. Nobody has ever told me that before."
(Whenever I read that part I weep. "Nobody has ever told me that before.")
Doug Nichols continues with his story: So the plane was landing and I gave him a gospel track. I said, "You take this, you read it and it will tell you on how you will turn from sin and to the Savior."
He said, "We’re not there yet. Let’s read it together." So we’re getting our bags reading the gospel at the aisle of our train reading the gospel track and as he left that day he said, "Thank you, sir, for talking to me. Thank you for talking."
