Meeting Louis

     Between these last two weeks i went to Illinois and Michigan. I had a fabulous time and loved being able to reconnect with my friends up there. But I am not here to talk to you about my time there (that's for another post), but about my time coming back. On one of the two flights i had coming home, i sat next to an elderly man who was a priest named Louis. On that three hour plane ride we talked about his life and mine. He grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. But has lived many places including Rome, San Antonio, St. Louis, Paris, and many other places. He moved back to New Orleans and now gives people what he calls 'Spiritual Guidance'. He is involved in a religious catholic community, the name of which i forgot. With that community he travels all over, hence all the places he has lived. He told me much more about himself but for privacy and length sake i will say no more. We then talked about me. I told him about school, my family, and then he asked about my religion. Since i am not a catholic, i paused before answering to make sure i did not offend him. I then answered that I do not claim a denomination because i find it futile as long as you follow Jesus Christ, although i do go to a baptist church and call myself a Christian. We did not talk to much more about religion. Other then when i told him about the Bible college i want to go to, and other future plans i have that include working with a Christian organization; and what he wanted to say about the topic, which mostly involved his past school education, and what he currently does.
     Later i noticed that he was not concerned with pushing his beliefs on me, or pointing out what he thought to be false with what i said. He was not rude when i said that i went to a baptist church rather he was extremely polite with everything that exited his mouth. He was concerned with my safety when we landed. Any question i asked he answered without hesitation. He listened with interested when i spoke, and answered his questions. Overall i thoroughly enjoyed talking to him and that whole plane ride, and I hope to meet Louis again sometime if not in this lifetime then the next.
     I have heard many people talk about conversations they've had with people of different religions. They say that it did end on a good note, or it was just impossible to find anything in common, or something negative. Whenever i would hear someone talk like this i knew that there had to be something wrong. I realize that these conversations do happen. But now i know that there are ways to talk about what you believe with someone and not become mad or offended. Of course one thing that contributed to us not getting into an argument was the fact that neither of us was looking for one. We were not searching for a chance to prove ourselves right. I am not bashing religious debates there is a time and place for them, but he and i knew that this was neither the time nor the place.
     I guess the point of me telling you this is because of what Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:23 and 24 "But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient." There are ways to do this and talk about religion at the same time. We should not ignore the topic of religion with people of other religions, but openly talk about it with grace and care. That conversation is one of the most interesting and enjoyable conversation i have had up to date. I continue to tell everyone about it and how much I enjoyed it. Even though Louis and I believed different things i felt cared for and I wanted to continue the conversation. I want to encourage you that when you encounter someone who claims a different religion to not be eager for a debate. But with grace and delicacy talk about your religion, past, present, and future hopes and dreams. There is something invigorating about learning to speak with others about controversial things and not walk away angry.

Louis