Life is truly fascinating. The infamous “they” are quite fond of assuring us that “things happen in threes.” Bad things. Good things. Strange things. Unexpected things. And so it happens that in the past three weeks, I have crossed paths with three CIA agents. For real.
But, of course, I can neither confirm nor deny that this ever really happened….
One of my God given talents is to befriend strangers and listen to their life stories. Hollywood lore would have us believe that all three of these spies will now have to kill me simply because they shared their stories with me and I now “know too much.” Take for example my encounter on Veterans Day a few days ago inside Olive Garden. To my delight, this spy’s talent was to deliver a really good tale!
The aged spy confided in me that back in his active days he parachuted in darkness into North Korea to do his nefarious deeds, then he was responsible to “get myself out of the country.” After I breathlessly inquired how he escaped, he casually replied, “I stole a Russian MIG and flew it out,” adding, “I wanted to keep it, but they wouldn’t let me.”
At this point, I was somewhat confident that this colorful gentleman had been watching one too many James Bond movies. But, you never know….
One of my most memorable experiences is when a young, tough looking panhandler ambled up to me in San Diego when I was attending a Navy school there years ago and asked for money. Most sincerely desiring to hear him out, I replied, “If your story is good, I’ll buy your dinner,” to which he abruptly replied, “I just got out of prison for murder.” My unhesitant response was, “How much do you want?” (I did not join him for dinner… and that was the last time I asked for a “good story” from a panhandler.)
The other two CIA agents’ stories were much more factual than the flamboyant senior in Olive Garden. But among the three there was an unsurprising underling message to me, the stranger: “I trust you enough to let you know who I am, but not enough to actually spell out the letters C-I-A.” The closest they got was “Alphabet Agency,” except, of course for the distinguished career veteran wearing the Langley cufflinks.
As Templars and Christians, we too have genuinely fascinating and interesting stories to tell strangers. And, trust me, once they hear a portion of your tale, they always want to know more. I have never met anyone who did not want to know how I can legitimately call myself a Templar Knight. It may be the number one conversational icebreaker on the planet!
And, in the process, because it is impossible to tell the story of the 21st-century Templar without mentioning Christ, we are additionally blessed with an avenue for relating the most important reasons for our existence to as many strangers as we encounter.
In fact, the Word describes that the early church was “adding to their number day by day” (Acts 2:47) simply by telling their stories to everyone who would listen. Nothing has changed in Christianity. Each of us 21st-century Templars must likewise be about adding to our number day by day from among other committed Christ followers. Has not our Lord Master commanded, ““All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mathew 28:18-20) Indeed, this command is known as “the Great Commission”.
If our listener is not yet a Christian, then we have the extraordinary opportunity to add to both our family in Christ and our Templar family by simply telling the story of our lives and God’s grace with excitement!
The only difference is this: while I “never met” the three CIA agents, your individual, personal story is one that must be openly told so that it will be remembered and shared widely. When someone’s encounter with you is recalled, they should say, “I just met the most interesting person. You won’t believe this, but they’re a Templar Knight for real!”
Beloved, God has given each of us an amazing and unforgettable story to tell, so let us tell it with passion and excitement. Remember, there are hundreds of Christian families in the Holy Land who are totally dependent on our enthusiastic success as we each go about our daily business of the Templar mission.