Bill is Punching Me!
Dear Friends,
Last Friday night, two international scholars from the University of Iowa joined us for dinner and spent the night in our home in Williamsburg.
After dinner we decorated the Christmas tree together and then read from Luke—The birth of Jesus. After the reading, our friend from Myanmar asked us why we would invite her into our home, since she is a professed atheist. Our answer startled her—“because we love you.”
She then proceeded to ask me if I believed everyone has a sin nature. My answer—“Is it not obvious that all have a propensity to do what is wrong?” She continued, “So you must believe in special creation, as well.” I answered again, “I do.” During our conversation I explained a little more about the reasonableness of the Christian belief system. As is my practice, it soon came time to take more of the offense.
I asked our friend, “How can you believe that all things came from nothing, that our complex universe evolved without intelligence? What about love? Where did it come from if there is not a personal creator God? Is there really evil, right and wrong if there is no law giver?”
She desired to ask about the differences between Christian denominations, but we kept the subject on Christ’s death for all.
She talked about a social construct forming the values of humanity. I asked, “So does the majority decide what is right and wrong, or maybe an elite few?” Eventually, we decided that we had discussed “God” enough and would wait for another time to continue our talk. About that time Deb reinterred the room and asked, “What are you two talking about?” Our friend replied good-naturedly, “Bill is punching me.”
The next evening, after we had dropped our friend off, she sent us a text asking if she could bring her Muslim friend with her the next time she comes to our home.
We are so thankful to God that He is giving us opportunities to speak the gospel to the nations.
This evening we have a ‘Muslim background’ friend coming for supper—please keep praying.
We love you,
Bill and Deb
By the way: I know many of you have received a letter informing you of our retirement from Baptist Mid-Missions. However, we are not retiring, just retooling. If you are a financial supporter you will receive a four page document explaining the change, a new support estimate, and our ministry plan going forward.