I’ve been to rental car counters a great deal over the last four and a half years… in fact, three times this week. But today, at Midway Airport in Chicago, something unexpected provided a measure of inspiration and perspective that was significant.
It was at the precise moment where my patience was at its breaking point that the man behind the counter looked at me and said, “Sir, do you still live on Davies Way?” I nodded as politely as I could and said yes. And then he said, “And sir, do you still work for Youth for Christ?” And again, I responded with a yes. But what followed was off the script. It was as though my affirmative answer had pushed the needle out of the groove, and in an instant the rental car agent was freelancing. “Wow,” he said, “What an important job you have.”
Oblivious to my personal title, and unaware of any specific responsibility, our organizational brand captivated the heart of a man who lives in a city where youth violence and hatred seem to be racing out of control. I felt as though I had just delivered a vaccine to a disease-infested region. I had the answer to a troubling problem… to THE troubling problem.
As quickly as the agent had been thrust off course, he delivered the same propulsion for me. It took seconds to derail me from the rhythm of another routine airport experience, and into the powerful reality of God’s amazing plan.
“Our kids need this!” he added as he continued to reflect on the power of a name and the significance of the promise it delivers.
With paperwork in hand I thanked the gentleman behind the counter… but it didn’t seem like enough. In a momentary encounter, through a spontaneous response, in the middle of a scripted routine… the significance of God’s plan broke through. The powerful truth that Christ, and Christ alone, can lay siege to the fortress of hatred, violence and hopelessness that permeates the culture.
At a rental car counter. Not while I poured over Scripture, not while I listened to a powerful and tightly orchestrated sermon, God broke through.
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ~ John 10:10
When we bring the hope of Jesus to a broken world… we are doing what’s important, what Jesus Himself commanded and modeled. And when we grasp that, even in an instant… everything looks different.
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