The 28th of June was off to a bad start. I was at work at the Bible Society bookshop in downtown Beirut, and I was feeling down. I didn’t want to be at work that day, because I felt I needed to be with my friend who had lost a loved one.
During that day, a tourist visited the bookshop. As we were talking, he mentioned that he does not believe in God even though he had read the Bible and it seemed nothing to him more than a novel. In response, I also talked to him about God, quoting the Bible. We kept going back and forth on the topic of the existence of God and then moved on to talk about the creation in Genesis.
He said that he does not believe that what’s written about the creation in the Bible was literally how it happened and how man came to be. I personally do not care for these details, and I made that clear to him. I care to know more about God, his love and salvation for me, and how to build my personal relationship with him. As for how the world was created, it does not affect my faith.
He was surprised to hear that and he exclaimed: “you really do love god!”
I replied that I do try to love God who has loved me first.
Before he left, I asked him for his name and if he would mind that I pray for him.
He was surprised that I would ask, but gratefully accepted.
In return, he asked if he could give me a hug. It was my turn to be surprised at his request, but I agreed because I saw how deeply our conversation had affected him.
However, as I come to think of it now, I wonder, who was really it that gave the hug? Who brought comfort to whom in this case? I don’t know about him, but I felt that it was God giving me a fatherly embrace.
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