As I knocked on the door of the refugee family, I prayed for an opportunity to share about Jesus with them during our visit. And the courage to do it. I have found that sometimes when there is an opportunity in a conversation to share a story of Jesus, I sometimes let it slip away, and the conversation moves on. I wonder to myself, why do I ever let those brief moments pass by and miss out on an opportunity to gently steer the conversation to share the gospel with someone? Has that ever happened to you? I prayed with new resolve that this time, I would not just have pleasant chatter about current events, but I would indeed bring Jesus into the conversation, and also pray with the individual I was meeting.
As it happened, I did bring Jesus into the conversation and it wasn’t that hard. Especially among Muslims, there is great respect for Jesus, as they consider him a great prophet. Interestingly, there are amazing things said about Jesus in the Quran. Things that are not said about Mohammed. Jesus is called the Word of God. Jesus is said to be born of a virgin. Jesus is said to be sinless. Jesus is especially noted for his miracles. These same things are never said about Mohammed. These are open topics that we can talk about, usually without opposition. Jesus had compassion for men, women, and children. The gospel abounds with stories of his tenderness and love. That is something that everyone needs to hear and people usually respond to it well.
It is a small step to then mention God’s position regarding sin and the seriousness of understanding our own sin and how it separates us from God. And yet, because of God’s great love and compassion towards us, he sent Jesus, who was sinless, to pay the penalty. It is at this point that many times Muslims will object. It happened during my visit too. “There is no way that God would allow Jesus to suffer for my sin, or anyone else’s. Jesus was a great prophet and God would not allow it to happen,” was the strong response from the family I was visiting. I said this is what is written in the Bible, so I have to believe it. We then moved on to other topics such as finding car insurance and getting a car registered and plated. I have continued to tell them stories about Jesus in subsequent visits. They are always polite in listening to them.
We are planting seeds. Hopefully, though this family did not accept the good news this time, they have heard it. We pray for the Holy Spirit to eventually, in his timing, do a work in their hearts.
In our discussions of Jesus, we don’t want to argue or force our opinion. We don’t want to win an argument, lose a friend, and the opportunity to talk about these things another day. We are called to bear witness. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and change hearts. May God give us courage and strength to be his faithful witnesses.
