United by our common interest in sweets, I’ve invited my friend Kun Kun to try one of the most delicious beverages known to mankind: hot chocolate. The closest thing Asia offers is milk tea, which is nice, but pales in comparison. When I reach the south gate of campus, Kun Kun smiles and throws her arms around me. I know that the concept of melted chocolate with whipped
cream is exiting, and I also feel happy to see her. But Kun Kun has something else on her mind.
“Autumn! I think I’ve fallen in love!”
“Oh! Wow!” Made quickly its way past my lips but ‘Oh dear’ spoke on my mind. I feel privileged that my friend trusts me to be so open. And naturally, I want to share in her excitement. However, I pray on our bike ride to a nearby restaurant that I can be the right kind of friend for her, not simply reflecting new joy, but going deeper and somehow pointing back to Jesus.
As we chat, I start by asking a lot of little questions. I find out a little about who he is, that they met fifteen days ago at her part time job, and why she likes him. At the end of the story, when Kun Kun says she is in love, I finally hear myself ask the ‘right’ question:
“Kun Kun, what do you think love is?”
She sort of wrinkles her nose a little and thinks about it. Kun Kun says she doesn’t really know – that her last boyfriend said he loved her too and that they had promised to be with each other forever. Together, we talked about what a promise really is; how you can only make some promises to one person, how important that promise is and what it really means. As we continued talking, I showed her Corinthians 13. She asked questions about words she didn’t understand and in doing this, I was able to show her what God says love is, and tell her that this is the way He promises to love us – and God never breaks his promises.
As we walked home from the restaurant, I asked if I could tell her the true story of Jesus’ life. Kun Kun had never heard the story before and was a little surprised. She asked good questions and made connections about the role of Jesus as the bridge between us and God. At the end of our walk, she told me that she really liked hearing it, that she felt like she knew me more, and that she hoped we would be friends forever. =P
I biked home that night praising the Lord with all my soul. I prayed that Kun Kun would start to feel a love that she wouldn’t know apart from Him, and that questions and a new yearning would drop into her heart. Please join me in praying for Kun Kun. I find that my care and love for her is growing quickly, and I so love moments when I can share about God with her. Please lift up my prayers for her and ask for her salvation.