A year ago today, I found myself looking fear dead in the eye.
Leading up to that moment, there was a crippling fear inside me that had lingered for a couple of days. I would be leaving my team in Africa, traveling across the world 8,465 miles back to my home state, alone. I had had time to get used to the idea of traveling alone, but there was one thing that I couldn’t shake out of my head. There had been multiple terrorist attacks in the months before, and I had a layover in the Brussels International Airport, the same one that had previously been attacked by terrorist. The one word that kept flashing through my head was MUSLIM.
As soon as we landed, I quickly got to my gate and found a spot where I could sit and charge my phone, only to look up and see a large man walking up to me watching my every move. Realizing that he, too needed to charge his phone, I offered him mine. There was something about him that intrigued me. We exchanged names followed by some small talk, and then he asked me what the purpose of my time in Africa was. I told him about our ministry and we talked about Jesus quite a bit. He was very well educated about the Bible and all of its teachings, and said he has always been amazed by the miracles Jesus performed. Assuming he was a Christian, I asked him how he came to know the Lord. His response: “I’m a Muslim, but I went to Catholic school.”
We continued to talk for quite awhile and much to my surprise, my fear was gone. To this day, he is one of the friendliest, most sincere people I have ever met. In that moment, the Lord was using the one thing that terrified me, to teach me a lesson.
Jesus stirred in my heart that day something that has been the heartbeat of my mission: ALL PEOPLE ARE HIS PEOPLE, and we are called to LOVE THEM. No matter the color, no matter the religion, no matter the ethnicity, no matter the beliefs. We must show love so that they can see that Christ IS love. The same Jesus that died for me, died for those who persecute His beloved name.
“The message that you have heard from the beginning is to love each other.”
??1 John? ?3:11? ?GW??
