An Atlantic Sized Conversation

Ever sat beside someone on an airplane that loved to talk? That was the case today; except it wasn’t a quick connection flight, it was a 10 hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean. I’m not much of a talker on airplanes. I prefer to put on headphones and read or journal. But as soon as I sat down, the man next to me in the window seat struck up a conversation.

My new travel companion across the ocean was an older man, 68 years old to be exact. He was Dutch and quick to tell me all about himself. I learned that he visited the United States three times a year and that he was not in any way religious (by his own admission).

He then began to ask me some question with the first one being, “What do you do for a living?” After telling me he was an atheists, you should have seen the surprised look on his face when I said I’m a pastor of a church!

Once we were up in the air, he wanted to press the issue of religion. I’m amazed how people (especially who are not religious) always have so much to say about religion. Didn’t Jesus experience this with the women at the well in John 4? After Jesus told her about her personal life, she changes the subject entirely and begins to talk about the religious differences between Jews and Samaritans. People still do the same thing today.

I quickly told him that we didn’t emphasize religion. We emphasize Jesus. There’s a big difference. It didn’t matter to him. He was an atheists and didn’t believe in anything. “But what about after you die, what do you think happens to you?” I asked. “You’re dead! That’s it…nothing else” he said with a thick Dutch accent.

Then came the big questions, “If there is a God, why is there so much suffering in the world?” “How can you believe a book written by so many different people over so many centuries?” “If Adam and Eve disobeyed God, then why would God punish all of humanity because of their mistake?” “Why are there so many religions in the world?”

These were tough questions that deserved the right answers. One by one, I began to explain the gospel and my Christian worldview and mostly, why I hope in God. I told him I could prove to him that there is a God. He laughed and said, “How?” I said, “This airplane we are riding in at 40,000 feet”, we were crossing the English Channel at this point, “Who designed this aircraft?” “An Engineer” he said. “Of course, the plane didn’t come into existence on its own. Someone thought it through, created a design and implemented a system to create this aircraft.” I continued, “I don’t know who the engineer is. I’ve certainly never met him and I don’t know how to contact him, but the very existence of this aircraft tells me there is an engineer…a designer…a creator.”

Outside his window seat was a breathtaking view of the clouds we were riding above. The Sun was shining and it was a remarkable view of God’s glory and splendor. “So it is with creation” I said. “Creation itself proves that there is a Creator.”

Then I began to explain why I believe in life after death. How God formed man from the dust of the ground, but breathed His life (our souls) into us. The Bible I explained, I accept by faith. I asked him pointedly if he believed when boarding the jet that it would crash. “No!” he said. “Of course not. If you believed it would have crashed, you never would have boarded. But by faith, you walked onto this plane trusting that is going to arrive safely in the United States.”

“Then why are there so many religions in the world?” This the direction he wanted to take our conversation. I will admit, it’s a tough question. He asked, “As long as people are sincere, that’s all that matters, right?” There were tv screens on the back of each passenger’s chair. Our screens were showing the flight plan and was charting our course across the vast Atlantic. It provided a beautiful illustration to answer his question of sincerity with religion.

“If our pilot believes he is flying this plane West toward the United States, but in reality, he is flying East toward China, where are going to end up? Obviously we will end up in China. It does not matter how sincere our pilot is. It doesn’t matter how good of a person he might be. If he is flying this plane in the wrong direction, then we are going to end up in the wrong destination. He may be sincere, but he is sincerely wrong! So it is with Islam, Buddhism, New Age and all other forms of religion. People are no doubt sincere, but in the end, all that really matters is truth.”

He was pretty quiet the rest of the flight. I prayed so hard for him. I still pray for him, that God will open the eyes of his heart and give him the understanding to see the Gospel.