Taxicab Gospel

When I worked in Washington DC I got quite a few chances to travel because of my job. On many of these trips I took a taxi to and from the airport and what I like most about these times is you never know what’s going to happen when you sit down inside that yellow cab.

I've always felt a strong desire to share the the good news about Jesus with people. I especially felt this desire when I traveled. I kept traveling around on business trips and wanting to talk with people though I always felt a bit anxious about it. On the way back home from the airport after another trip I felt that urge to share the gospel prick my heart once again.

My cab driver was a Pakistani named Malik, and I felt like I should ask him about his faith. But I had very strong urges not to do it. I knew the ride home from the airport would only take about fifteen minutes, and if I waited long enough, the feeling would pass… mostly because I’d get out of the car. But that’s when I realized my pride stood between the gospel and this man.

But I knew I couldn’t do anything. I was frozen. So I prayed and confessed that I couldn’t share Christ’s grace and life and love with Malik unless Jesus did it through me. I asked God to come, and please fill my mouth and chest and make it happen, and God doesn’t disappoint when we ask to share the gospel.  He opened my mouth.

I asked Malik if he was a Muslim, that’s all I did, a simple question. And he began to, without any hesitation, talk about Jesus, and Muhammad, and the Jews, and how all three of their books are one and how Jesus was only a prophet.

I asked Malik one question, and it was like I uncorked a fountain of religious curiosity in this man.  As our conversation began to draw towards a close as we reached my townhouse, I knew I couldn’t leave our ride with only a conversation, so I asked Malik. “Have you ever read the Bible?”

“No,” he replied.

“Would you, if you had one?” I asked because I had my travel Bible inside my laptop bag.

“Yes.”

“Can I give you one?” I asked as we pulled up to my townhouse.

“Yes.”

Credit or cash?”

“Cash.”

I gave Malik forty dollars, a Bible, and a shot at truth because God would not let me close my mouth. How cool is that? Of course, I was one super nice travel Bible short for the time being, but I didn’t care, and that’s when I figured out that I should probably buy more Bibles. Since that first time, I’ve given Bibles to Amir from Kurdistan, Ahamid from Nigeria, Bebo from Nepal, Thomas, from Gana, and Hekmet from Afghanistan.

One day I figured out I should probably give out Aramaic instead of English Bibles to these cab drivers since most of them can’t read or write in English, but that’s all part of the lesson. Last week I gave a Vietnamese Bible to my Vietnamese barber named… Ted. And I could have done none of that without Christ working through me to impact the Washington DC area for His glory.

But the most exciting part is that when we give up and let God fill and move through us, we often realize an excitement and passion we never knew we had. Because of these taxicab Gospel messages, as well as quite a few other Christ-serving experiences, I’ve discovered a passion for people and sharing God’s word that I hadn't yet realized.

Because of serving God in the Washington DC area, He actually took me out from that city to go to seminary and become I pastor. For the past several years I've been working on my Master of Divinity so I can learn to become a pastor and serve and share God in fulltime ministry.

From letting go of my pride and my desire to do my own thing and asking God to fill me because I cannot I’ve discovered God has a design for us and our lives that is so much more satisfying and rewarding than anything we could create or imagine.

When I gave Malik a Bible, I had no idea this was just another small step God ordained to open up my eyes to what my heart really wanted. I wanted to become a pastor. But God knew the importance of this small step.  Wild things happen when we let God use us. Try it sometime. It will change your life.

Picture By: Global Jet