“It's the reason we're here together,” he said.
His name is Jamlin Sam and he was born and raised to an average family in India. I was also born in an average family in Montana. But that wasn't the reason we were now friends.
Jamlin attended an Assemblies of God Bible school in India. I attended an Assemblies of God university (or two) in the United States. Normally, though, I don’t leave my family behind to connect with other alumni.
Jamlin loves music, video, and a life in full-time ministry. But that wasn’t enough for me to have traveled all that way to see him.
None of these things are really the reason we met. Fitting that on Good Friday, my last day in India, Jamlin recognized that it was all because of the Cross. Because of the Cross, our lives have taken the paths that they have. Because of the Cross, we consider dying to ourselves. Because of the cross we were together on Good Friday eating hot cross buns and drinking chai.
I’m so thankful for what Jesus did for me on the Cross, and that he did it for all. It’s what allows me to recognize his work in myself and in others as not my own goodness, but his. I’m thankful for those like Jamlin who become my friend for life because we share in being part of God’s family.