Australia – a chance meeting?

Richard met Aaron and Jane on the streets of Sydney and showed strong interest in hearing stories. Aaron and Jane suggested that Richard bring a couple of friends to come hear a first story. This initial event grew into a weekly gathering. After the second week and the story of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God (Gen 3), Richard made a thoughtful comment: “Oh, now I understand. Sin and death are separation from God.” He began to grasp that people have a serious problem. Adam and Eve’s rebellion was not about casually eating a piece of fruit but about disregarding God’s word, rejecting his authority, and setting themselves up in opposition to him.

The group continued through more Old Testament stories and then moved on to stories of Jesus. One of the gatherings involved a deep discussion on why Jesus wept just before raising Lazarus from the dead (Jn 11). Little did the group know the impact this was about to have. Richard abruptly let the group know he was moving to Melbourne, which meant this last session suddenly had to cover Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. Halfway through the discussion time, Richard burst into tears. A university friend had died of cancer the night before; she was twenty-five. After the Lazarus story had opened the door to a discussion of grief and death, the group was able to talk deeply about resurrection, hope and salvation.

Richard became a Christian that night.

Adapted from “Telling the Gospel Through Story”