An Island

At some time or another, we've all played the deserted island game. You know the one. If you are stranded on an island, what books would you want to have with you? If you are stranded on a deserted island and could select one person to have there with you, who would it be? I used to think I would like to have Angelina Jolie. Now I'm thinking that Betty White might be a better choice. Books would certainly be nice to have on an island, but I don't think that they would take the place of a human voice, body warmth, intelligent conversation (I'm sure that Angelina would be able to talk intelligently.) So, who would you want to be there with you? Okay, you say, "I'm a Christian. I would want another Christian there with me." So which Christian would you choose? How about a fundamentalist Baptist? Maybe a Unitarian Universalist? How about Pastor Terry Jones, the infamous burner of the Koran? Would a member of the Jeovah's Witnesses be your choice? Would it be a Mother Teresa type or a Christmas and Easter Christian? Do you think that a Christian just like you would be a generator of intelligent conversation? If so, maybe that would be your choice. I think that my friend, retired Baptist minister, Paul, would be high on my selection list. He and I are both pretty liberal. The conversation would probably not be very heated, but I'm sure we would figure out how to cure the world's ills through our love for our fellow man. My friend, Methodist minister, Eileen would be a good choice for me too. She directs an outreach mission working with Whites, Blacks and Hispanics, mostly poor, some documented and some probably not, but she doesn't care. I love her love of Christ and how that leads her to a career serving all of God's children. I have a couple of new young friends, Trish and Mustafa. Trish is a Socialist and an atheist. Mustafa is a Muslim. They are both young enough to be my grandchildren and I would be proud to be able to claim that relationship. I would love to be stranded on an island with either of them. Both of them, although they are not Christians, are heavily involved in advocacy for human rights. This isn't because of the big bucks they can earn, they just have XLG sized hearts. Would either of them be able to convert me from Christianity? Not in my lifetime. My love of Christ is too strong. On the other hand, maybe time with them would allow me to go and make disciples. At the very least, there would be some wonderful opportunities for the exchange of thoughts. Daniel Defoe placed Robinson Crusoe alone on a deserted island. It can be easily argued that Friday, a black man who couldn't speak English, saved Crusoe's sanity and probably his life. It is important to me to be able to remember, as I go through this life, that different just means different. It does not necessarily mean wrong or dangerous.