What God Loves About Airports

I enjoy watching people, and there is no better place for this than an airport. My wife and I were flying for a trip this week, and the people-watching was second to none. I saw business travelers, foreign students, families, bikers, homeless people, nuns and, oddly, what looked like a group of Amish passengers (maybe they were Mennonites, but they still seemed out of place.)

I watched a touching reunion between a father and his small daughter—and what I thought was going to be a touching goodbye kiss between a young couple that suddenly turned into a sloppy make-out session. You see everything at the airport (even stuff you wish you hadn’t seen). The reason I like people-watching is because it’s fun to guess who somebody is, where they’re from and what they’re doing. It’s amazing how much you can learn from just observing somebody.

The problem, or should I say "challenge," with thinking about so many strangers is that I inevitably end up wondering about their salvation and how many of them have the joy of knowing Jesus. There are so many people in this world, and there is only one way to God. It’s a staggering thought when you start to notice them instead of casually walking by them. It always makes me wonder if there’s anything else I can be doing as a Christian.

It’s an issue I always struggle with, as I’m sure many Christians do. Are we doing enough evangelism? Are we sharing life’s greatest hope with everyone we can? Obviously we are called to share it with the people close to us, but how much are we supposed to be sharing it with others? Is street evangelism a good thing? What about airport evangelism?

I know that it’s not going to be effective for the gospel's sake for me to walk around like a maniac and harangue everyone I see at the terminal. Still, I think I miss opportunities for opening up conversations with people sitting next to me because I’m enjoying my book too much to be bothered.

I’m trying to be more mindful of what the Holy Spirit is calling me to do daily. I need to be open to God’s voice if I feel like He’s calling me to strike up a conversation with someone. I need to be more intentional in my prayer life about asking for opportunities to share His love. What about you?