Stories from South Asia - Day 4

Day 4

We decided to go to a different area on the fourth day so that we would not be backtracking too much. Katie, Jamal and I made our way into a small village only to find out that the local leader was away at a political rally that day. So we then asked if there were any other people of influence and someone directed us to a doctor’s office. Now what you have in mind as a doctor’s office is nothing like what we entered. This was a wooden shack on the side of the road where a well-dressed man sat reading the Koran. As we entered and sat down a small crowd gathered in the doorway peering in at us, curious to see what we’d come for. In our previous visits we had the luxury of privacy in individual’s homes, but it seemed that on this day, the LORD wanted us to have more of a public hearing.

So I started to share just as the days prior why we had come and what we wanted to discuss. By this time 3 other men had come into the tiny office and sat down: one a local Islamic school teacher (the type of school that teaches only the Koran and pumps out radicals), another older man that was wearing a political badge showing his allegiance to the fundamentalist opposition party, and a third gentleman that was a bit less assuming. When it came time for them to read the passages in the Koran that mention Jesus, the young teacher took the “honors” and began to sing in a melodious tonal voice the Arabic just as he taught it to his students. It really was a bit eerie to listen to the Koran being sung with such passion and intensity. Ironically, when he finished and we started asking questions, he asked if he could look at our Koran that is in their local language to be clear on the meaning. That’s what is so crazy – the vast majority of Muslims in the world have no idea what the Koran actually says because they are not fluent in Arabic! Yet they listen to their preachers spout off a bunch of political propaganda that has little to do with Islam and they take it as truth.

Just a side-note: If you are a Christian and all you do is listen to what other people say about the Bible, you’re no better off than these men. The Reformation led to an era when the gospel was translated into the common language (it had traditionally been only in Latin) of the reader/audience and I praise God for that privilege. We are believer-priests and must study to show ourselves approved.

Back to the story . . . . We stayed in that office for several hours. It was amazing to see our national translator Jamal really engage these men. After a while I just looked at Jamal and said, “Brother, you say what the LORD puts on your heart . . . you’re not bound to translating for me.” At that he smiled and went on sharing intensely with them for some time. At one point the local Imam (Islamic pastor) came in and sat down, which it was evident that all the people started deferring their answers to him. They all listened intently as Jamal shared about Jesus – how he is more than a prophet – and about the Bible – how it is reliable and has not been corrupted as the Imams often teach. He even used the Koran to validate his point that the bible is reliable by turning to several passages where Muhammad told his followers to go to the Bible if they have questions regarding the truth!

We didn’t see anyone come to faith that day, but we did see a major shift in attitudes about Jesus and the Bible. Before we left, practically the whole town came out and asked for copies of Luke, to which we gladly obliged. These men that we engaged were shocked that followers of Jesus were so devout. They mentioned that all they had ever heard was how godless and immoral Christians are, but here we sat with a woman dressed modestly (Katie in her shari), reading and discussing from what they consider to be holy books, and even praying for them in Jesus’ name. I couldn’t help but leaving there feeling an intense satisfaction that God is indeed working in ways that we can’t even comprehend!