Star in the Sky

“And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’" Genesis 15:5, NASB.

Our son, Michael*, is friends with their son, Shiro, so it was only natural for us to sit together when they had a sporting event at the boys’ school. The event was like a mini-Olympics. Shiro’s grandmother sat next to me and struck up a conversation.

She talked a bit about dying one day, which is an unusual topic for Japanese to talk about. She said, “I told my grandson that when I die I will become a star in the sky.”

“Do you really believe that?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “I mainly say that to comfort Shiro.”

I then shared about Jesus and His offer of forgiveness. I invited her to put her faith in Jesus so that she would be in heaven with God when she dies. She didn’t put her faith in Jesus at that time, but a seed was definitely planted.

I believe the reason we had this conversation in the first place was that I had asked many believers in the United States to pray for us to have opportunities to share truth with this family. God delights to answer such prayers!

*Names changed for the privacy of the local people and security of the TCK. Excerpt from the newsletter of a Pacific Rim worker in Japan.

Pray that:

Shiro and his family will respond to the Gospel as Michael and his family continues to faithfully share.

God will prepare many Japanese hearts to respond to the Gospel and give boldness to believers in Japan to be His witnesses.

Pacific Rim workers will have eyes to see God’s answers to their prayers.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.