Adventures in Tbilisi
My inbound flight was six hours late so my English-speaking host was not there to greet me. Instead, there were two men holding a hand-made sign with my name on it.
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| Tbilisi, Georgia |
Three things happened that put my heart at ease.
First, as I approached them, they smiled broadly and gave me a big hug. I immediately thought of Romans 16:16 – Greet One Another.
When I got into the back seat of their car, which was the size of a small telephone booth, they both adjusted their front seats to give me more legroom. I thought of Romans 12:10 – Prefer One Another.
Several miles outside of town, the driver suddenly stopped the car, got out, and walked into a roadside shack. I thought, Okay, this is when they handcuff me, gag me, and send my wife a video demanding a ransom. Instead, he walked back to the car and handed me a bottle of cold water. He had stopped to buy water. He only bought one bottle, and he gave it to me. I thought of Ephesians 4:32 – Be Kind to One Another.
A calming peace enveloped me as I realized that I was being escorted through a dangerous country by believers in Christ. How did I know? It wasn’t because they professed to be Christians; because of the language barrier, we had barely spoken to each other. It was because they demonstrated Christ’s love to me through the One Anothers. Christ taught that “all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” Those men confirmed their allegiance to Christ by acting like him.
