Thursday, May 29, 2008

Conversation with a Russian Cab Driver

I'll probably never forget my first cab ride to Beverly Hills. I landed at LAX for a professional meeting. I had no idea that I was about to be in for a terrific conversation when my driver picked me up. While we were going through a Jewish community, we started talking about how if someone saved our lives from being shot with a bullet (run over by a vehicle, stabbed, etc.) how thankful we would be. We would be telling all of our friends, our family, and people we didn't even know. It wouldn't matter if it was in a church, board meeting, airport, or bar. And every time we saw something that reminded us of that person it would remind us of how lucky we are to be alive.

At that point, the switch was flipped. How often do we tell people about Jesus and what He has done for us? Do other people see the joy in our lives from the Holy Spirit living inside of us? Wouldn't we want to do everything we could to show Jesus how thankful we are for His sacrifice? Someone saving me from a bullet saves me temporarily from physical death…Jesus saves our souls permanently and offers us eternal life.

One way we can show our appreciation for what Jesus has done for us is to obey God's commands. Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). We are also told to pray without ceasing (1st Thessalonians 5:17), and to exhibit the "be" attitudes (Matthew 5:3-10). And when Jesus was asked the greatest commandment in the Law, He stated that we should "Love the Lord your God with all your hear and with all your soul and with all your mind…Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39). In other words, We have a lot to be thankful for…let's act like it.

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