I ♥ Jesus Because...
This was on the big sign across the street that drew my attention away from Big Ben and Parliament, in London. As I drew closer to the " I ❤ Jesus" sign on the table I noticed a subtitle that read, "Because I am Muslim"... And that is when the hair went up on my neck. Wow, really... I was locked on and it drew me in "like a tractor beam".
“We may disagree on some things, but Americans have given their lives to give people the freedom to disagree... If I come to visit you in your country I might die if I express my opinion, but not in America. His eyes were wide as he said, ‘We do not hear these things.’”
I found myself at a table filled with literature on Islam. I was intent on finding out just exactly what this was all about. Looking back, I was not at all happy about it. Like I have to defend the LORD...right. I was surprised at my own deliberate directness, I was sure I was about to enter some spiritual warfare. I walked up and said, "Hello, I love Jesus, and I'm a Christian. I saw your sign, so I thought I would come over and see what it was about.
Almost immediately I was engaged in conversation with the man standing in front of the table who I soon found out was a devout Muslim. I was about to be surprised on several accounts. For one thing, I found this guy to to be very friendly, (I can't like this guy, he's my enemy, right?) with a lot of charisma, all too determined to get some Islamic literature into my hand. There were a couple more surprises in store for me. I couldn't get a word in edgewise, so I decided to be patient, and pray as I listened. He began by saying "I love Jesus because Muslims believe that Jesus is the Messiah. And that Jesus, was in fact The Son of God. Moses, was a great Prophet and Mohammed, the great Prophet, came much later." Then he announced to my surprise "Jesus is alive!" To that I responded, "Amen, Praise the Lord!" He then followed up with, "and He never died"!
“My heart had moved from confrontational to convicted and compassionate. I could tell at this point we both had moved from being “religious-political” enemies to might I say, “friends”?”
Next, he told me it was Judas that was nailed to the Cross... Judas, and not Jesus. He explained that was because Judas had betrayed Jesus and deserved to die. He continued, saying the writers of the Gospels wrote well-after Jesus' earthly ministry and none of them ever saw Him or knew Him personally. I had heard enough at this point and said, "He did die and in fact He had to die."...it was then that my Arab friend's countenance changed. He didn't respond in anger though, in fact, to my surprise (again!) he began to listen more intently. I then stated that Jesus had to die to fulfill Old Testament Prophecy and that the bloodshed of countless innocent lambs sacrificed also pointed to Jesus' innocent and all-sufficient sacrifice He would make for the sins of the whole world. I continued, "The Gospels are eyewitness accounts of Jesus's life as these men did see Him and experience His perfect life and miracles. Along with that, John, the writer of the Gospel of John was one of Jesus' twelve disciples and His best friend. With that his chin noticeably dropped (I'm not even kidding here) and he responded, "We are not told these things". I told him that is why I love Jesus, because He loved me enough to die for me to pay for my sin. During this time I have to tell you that my heart had moved from confrontational to convicted and compassionate. I could tell at this point we both had moved from being "religious-political" enemies to might I say, "friends"? We seemed to be on the same page relationally at this point and the conversation became personal. He then asked me, "If I wanted to come to America to visit you at your home I would not be accepted, would I?" I answered, "Yes, you would be welcome!"
We may disagree on some things, but Americans have given their lives to give people the freedom to disagree. We believe you have the right to your opinion and though we disagree we are willing to die to protect that freedom. I then said, If I come to visit you in your country I might die if I express my opinion, but not in America. His eyes were wide as he said, "We do not hear these things." He handed me some literature and asked me to read it so I said I would read it if he would read the Gospel of John. I finished our talk by saying, "I was once God's enemy and now the devil wants you and me to be enemies. I came here because your sign says, I love Jesus. Well, because Jesus loves me, I love you." I walked away thinking, "Well, Father, I actually care about this guy"... hmmm. It was like the Spirit whispered, "So do I". Wow, was I humbled, and yep, surprised again.
Thank you for your continued love, prayers, and support.
-Keith