Dare 2 Share’s founder Greg Stier gave an important reminder on his Twitter page to all Christians this Father’s Day about those who are fatherless and may have wounds relating to their father: ”They need the love of the Heavenly Father.”
A “Chance” Encounter Before Father’s Day
The evangelist and discipleship trainer told his social media followers about a young man he and his wife encountered in the San Francisco airport the night before Father’s Day.
The Stiers could see that the young man, named Jesse, had never flown on Southwest Airlines before and was unaware how the airline’s seating assignments worked.
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Greg’s wife approached Jesse like a mother would a son and explained how travelers choose their seat on the plane. She then jokingly told Jesse that they would adopt him as their son until they boarded.
The young man, in his mid 20s, gladly accepted their help and jokingly called them “Mom and Dad” as they found their seats. Later, as the Stiers departed the plane, they saw Jesse in the terminal. He was confused about where his connecting flight was.
Greg approached Jesse at the prompting of his wife and helped him find his next flight. “Why were you in San Francisco?” Greg asked the young man as a way to make conversation. Jesse said he was visiting his dying grandpa, who was in the ICU.
Jesse added that his own father had just died the previous week, and that although it was an abusive relationship, his father’s death was still difficult.
“My heart broke for Jesse,” Greg wrote. “This young man was without his father and his grandpa was dying the day before Father’s Day.” This is what prompted Greg to share his own story with Jesse.
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Greg explained to Jesse that his biological father had abandoned him before he was ever born and shared how the heavenly Father had adopted him as His own son.
He shared the gospel with Jesse, explaining to him how much God loved him and how He sacrificed His own Son on the cross so that Jesse could be adopted into God’s family through simple faith in Him.
After talking for several minutes, Jesse and Greg made their way to Greg’s wife. Her eyes filled with tears when she learned Jesse’s story.
The Stiers told Jesse that their encounter was no accident and that they would be praying for him. Jesse began to weep and collapsed into Greg’s arms right in the middle of the airport with people walking all around them.
Greg shared that Jesse sobbed on his shoulder has he held him in his arms.
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The husband and wife huddled around the young man and prayed over him. “As people rushed to get home on Father’s Day all around us, we interceded for him in the middle of the airport,” Greg said. “We prayed for this now-fatherless young man who now knew about another Father who was longing to adopt him as His own.”
After they were done praying for him, Greg got Jesse’s address so that he could send him a copy of his new book “Unlikely Fighter” which tells Greg’s story growing up without a father and how Jesus changed Greg’s life.
“Pray for Jesse,” Greg asked his social media followers. “[Jesse] promised to read it and get back to me. Ask God to use this tragic situation to draw Jesse to himself.”
The evangelist reminded Christians that there are many hurting people out there today, many of whom have deep wounds from their earthly fathers. “They need the love of the Heavenly Father. They may need to shed tears of grief on your shoulder,” Greg said at the conclusion of his Twitter thread.
Greg encouraged Christians the importance of shining the light and sharing the love the Jesus today and everyday.
