An Unlikely Meeting
I went out early that morning to share tracts to the students heading to the Secondary School located in the community. While I shared the tracts, I encouraged the students to read them. A few got my phone number, even though they didn’t have phones, and promised to call as soon as they could.
On my way back, I noticed a young man staring at me. He was standing by a gate close to the school so I suspected he was a gateman. I approached him with a smile and he returned the smile. I asked him for his name and he said, “A.J.” A little while into our conversation, I discovered he was a Muslim. At first, [before I knew he was a Muslim] I told him Jesus loved him and asked if he knew Jesus but I didn’t dwell on the question. Almost immediately, I found myself changing the focus of my discussion to Abraham and Moses. I shared about how they feared God and how they were very expectant of a Redeemer that was yet to come, which was Jesus.
A Strange Opposition
As I was talking, a man came out from one of the buildings in the compound and told A.J to open the gate for him. When the man saw me, I greeted him but he didn’t even want to reply my greetings. He just kept shouting angrily at me saying “Do you not know he’s a Muslim, how dare you come to preach to him?” He went to his car and as he was driving out, he called me to come close to his window and these were his words –
“You can’t be preaching to that man, he’s a Muslim. That’s what causes the chaos between Muslims and Christians. I’m a Christian but I don’t go to church and I haven’t tried imposing my belief on him. He (the gatekeeper, A.J) has even told me once to take him to my church anytime I decide to go to church but I haven’t. I even help him by driving him to the mosque.”
When he was done talking, I asked him why he refused to go to church and he told me that there is no church in the entire State where the truth is preached. I knew it was just an excuse to justify his bad actions; I tried to talk to him, but he didn’t want me to say anything. He kept arguing and trying to shut me up. Shortly after, he drove off shaking his head and saying that I shouldn’t even try to convince him.
Sealing the Deal
As he left, I went back to A.J who pleaded with me to come inside the premises and sit with him in his small room to avoid other side talks by the tenants. I was a bit scared but I kept hearing the Holy Spirit say to me “Be courageous.” He kept the room door open and we sat on the floor. He asked me what his boss said and I narrated the whole story to him. Then, he said that his boss has refused to go to church but claims to be a Christian. I was so ashamed, but he went on to tell me not to get angry at his boss or mind his words because he saw how badly his boss treated me.
He then urged me to preach to him (A.J); saying I might end up convincing him to believe in Christ. So, I resumed my discussion about Jesus. I told him of Christ and all the promises and hope He has given us; then, he made mention of ‘loving one another’ sometime during the conversation. So, I asked him if he has ever read the Bible. He said ‘a little‘ but he doesn’t understand it because he can’t really read.
He told me he had many questions to ask; he asked about Abraham and Moses and I told him all I knew and how both of them kept referencing the coming of Christ. I told him that no one comes to the Father except through the Son (Jesus), that if he actually loves God and believes in God, he will believe in his Son which is Jesus Christ, I gave answers to all the questions he asked. He asked of Adam and Eve and I explained the whole story as best as I could.
After explaining, I could see the joy in him. I’m grateful to the Holy Spirit for giving me words to speak! He said that now that I have explained to his understanding, perhaps I should come along with more of ‘my people’ and explain more things to him and perhaps one day, he’ll follow us to my church! He asked me what he should do next; I told him to pray and tell God that he believes in His Son Jesus. He did; I also prayed for him, got his number and left. On my way out, he ran towards me with a piece of paper to get my number and repeated that I should make out some time and come with ‘my people’ for fellowship. He was just very happy about the encounter. He later called that evening to confirm my number.
Being an Example
Walking back to the junction, I saw a woman in a shop who called me and asked me what I was holding. I gave her one of the tracts and explained it to her. She was very pleased by what I was saying and how at my young age, I hadn’t joined in ‘youthful adventures’ many youths seek. She told me she’ll keep the tract for her children after reading it. I entered a tricycle back to my hostel and gave the last two tracts to fellow passengers in the tricycle.
Do not fear, God is here!
A little back story before my outing: At first I was wondering how I was going to share the tracts on my own as no one joined me that morning to go to the secondary school [we are taught in church to go out on evangelism in pairs at the very least, just like Jesus sent out His disciples two by two].
This was my main focus as we had been told to reach out to the students in the school. I kept asking, “how can they send me alone?” but I later knew it was God trying to make me understand that He is always with us so far as we step out to obey him. May God’s name be praised. Amen.
– Sis E.M.
© God’s Lighthouse 2019.