These Tokyo Trains

It may sound surprising, but the analogy of a train has been really helpful for me as I learn to share Christ with others in Japan. Picture with me for a moment :)

You're riding a train to work in Tokyo. You will probably encounter thousands of people as you walk to the train station, scan your pass, wait in line on your platform, and ride the train to your destination, etc. Will you ever see any of these people again? Possibly, possibly not. Perhaps the person you sit beside is only in Tokyo for business. You'll never see them again in your life. Or they have been living in Tokyo for the past 80 years, and you'll see them the next morning if you ride the same train. Perhaps the person who sat on your left woke up just a little too early, or left a little too late, or else you would never have met them. And the man in front of you will be getting on the next train with you, but on his way to the airport to fly home. And possibly, if you're really lucky, perhaps ten out of those 1,000 people you encountered were Christians.

The sad reality, in Japan, is that if you did encounter a Christian on a train, you would probably never know it. The secrecy, the respect, and the hiding nature of my fellow Japanese neighbors creates a big barrier to sharing the gospel. It also makes the Christian life a life without true community, so Japanese Christians feel incredibly alone.

I rode the train in Tokyo for weeks without ever meeting a Christian. (Yet, in my ballet class in Tokyo, I met two!! But that's a story for another time! You can view it here :) So how do we cross this seemingly insurmountable barrier? With lots of prayer, and a new perspective! Traveling to my ballet studio on the Tozai line each day, I could encounter up to 1.9 million passengers daily, which means almost 1.9 MILLION PEOPLE who don't know the Lord! what an opportunity!!

As C.S. Lewis once said,

"There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal... it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors."

As I began to see the trains as more than just a means of transportation, the Lord opened up my eyes to see just what a gift this could be.

And so I decided to use these trains as vessels for the gospel. I read my Bible on every train. People asked, "What is your beautiful book?" and I got to share with them what I was reading. I handed out stickers to strangers on trains (from Inverse Dream Art ) that allowed me to subtly share the gospel through Christian artwork.

I struck up conversations with old men and women by standing up and giving them my seat. And, most of all, I used the trains as a way to pray. I may never see these people again, but God knows each and every one of them, and He can work in their lives, with or without me! I may be one stop along the way for them, one seed planted in their lives, or perhaps their train is already headed towards everlasting splendor, and they just needed a smiling face to encourage them to stand strong in their faith.

We have a duty to share the gospel, and we have a duty to pray for those who do not yet know Christ! And as we are faithful, the Lord WORKS! So, my obedience to the Lord may look very silly to the world - like praying for someone that I will never see again, or risking judgment by talking on a Japanese train! Yet, I have never met a mere mortal. And if my actions and thoughts can be one stop along the train tracks that lead someone to everlasting splendor, may all the glory be to God!

Would you pray with me?

Please pray for the millions of people who ride the trains and busses in Japan each day. Pray for God to put Christians in their lives, even if just for a moment. Please pray that the Lord will use these moments to bring them into His light, the light of the gospel, and fill them with His everlasting joy and peace.

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone.

May the Lord be their light, and yours!

Joyfully,

Gardner :)

P.S. Be on the lookout for an update soon ... on my hopes for returning to Japan next summer!!! In the meanwhile, here's a sneak peek!