Can you tell me what the Old Testament is about?

“Hey, I remember you!” Ginny* greeted the medical technician as she came into the room full of equipment.

“Oh yes, you were here a year ago, right?” Sonia replied. She had a distinct accent, which Ginny soon learned was due to her Eastern European heritage.

The two women chatted about the weather, where they each were from, and how they came to live in their small town. As Sonia arranged the scanning equipment, she asked Ginny, “So what do you do?”

Ginny has been a GoodSeed staff member for many years. Since she’s made it her habit to look for opportunities to reach out, she had a ready reply for Sonia: “I work with an organization called GoodSeed. We make books for people who maybe aren’t religious, but who are curious about the story of of the Bible–about the Old Testament and the New Testament–and about what it all means.”

“Oh!” Sonia exclaimed, with obvious interest. “I was born in Ukraine, but I’m actually Jewish, and I’ve been asking people, ‘Can you tell me what the Old Testament is all about?’ But no one has been able to answer me.”

Ginny was so thankful she’d re-stocked her “Be Ready Box” in her car, so it was easy for her to respond, “I have a book called By This Name in the car that, I think, can help you. Would you be interested in reading the book if I give it to you?”

“I’ll read it!“ Then Sonia paused and added, “But is the book easy to understand? Because I really need it to be simple.”

Ginny assured her that it was.

After her medical scans were completed, Ginny quickly retrieved from the trunk of her car, a copy of By This Name from the Rubbermaid container full of evangelistic resources. She found Sonia in the hospital cafeteria taking her lunch break.

Sonia received the book eagerly and thumbed through it, pausing on pages with charts and pictures. “This looks great! I really like books with illustrations.” She flipped over several more pages before looking up. “I definitely can’t wait to read this! Thank you so much, Ginny!” The two new friends hugged and parted ways.

Ginny was so glad she’d taken a few minutes to assemble her own “Be Ready Box.” In this situation, it meant that Sonia received a complete and clear gospel explanation that otherwise would not have been possible to give during their limited time together.

(* All names changed as per GoodSeed policy.)