A converted Muslim tells a remarkable story about how one December, she had four Muslim families come over to her house and wish her a Merry Christmas. The reason for this, she related, was that, as a gesture of friendship and respect, she had visited them on their important Muslim holy days, even after her conversion to Christianity. So impressed were they by what she had done, that they returned the gesture on her next Christmas as a Christian.
This was not her original approach. “For a time I tried to convert every Muslim I came across,” she wrote. But then she was studying the story in John 4 about Jesus and a Samaritan woman, and noticed how he treated her, coming from another culture. He respected her — He didn’t judge her — and He taught her something about God based on her own understanding of her culture and her religion. And even though he revealed to her that he knew all about her past sins, he did not reject her or condemn her, but spoke to her as to one whom he highly valued.
That’s when this converted Muslim realized that converting people was not as important a part of her job as showing them God’s love. So she is learning to love her Muslim friends — even engage in long discussions about God and His mercy with them, without having to convert them or correct every wrong thing they say.
This woman has already learned something as a new Christian that I am still learning as one who grew up believing — that you don’t have to make everyone relinquish everything they already believe in order to embrace Christ. Our mission is not to prove everyone wrong, but to share the love of Christ with everyone we meet through the reality of our own relationship with God. We are on a mission, not to shoot everybody down, or to straighten everybody out, but to simply love people and point them toward the truth.
“You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship,” Jesus told the woman at the well, “while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way” (John 4:22-23).
Jesus completes the picture; he doesn’t erase what was there. We can point anyone to Christ, confident that if they are truly seeking God, they will find Him in Jesus, regardless of where they might have been looking so far.
John Fischer The Catch 
John – this post was spot on! Your last paragraph sums it up and should bring freedom and release to all Believers in Jesus. “Share the Truth … and His name is Jesus.” I too think He is quite capable of changing a heart. We just have to present Him and let Him do His work in them. It’s really quite simple, isn’t it?
Yes! Simple to understand, but harder to do because of wrong perceptions and closed minds.
A few years ago went to Cuba for the first time. Although they knew I was a “Gringo” was treated with friendship and respect. Some told me, “Can’t trust those people. They’re Communist and will use whatever they can against you. Well, we have just loved one another, prayed for each other and grown. Some of them are closer than family although we may not have met other than on the Internet. Find your articles very encouraging in a day where many won’t pray for our leaders due to ideological differences. Sometimes it can feel like we are all alone.
Thanks for sharing a confirming story.
John,
You hit the nail on the head on this one. It also made me take a step back and re-think several things. Thanks for the insight.
That is one of the biggest lesson I have learned from reading the Catch & brother John is to show God’s love and to them that are different from me and do not believe the way or the same as I do. So today’s Catch just reinforced that.
I go to Heartsong Church in Memphis TN. This church is the one that allowed our Muslim neighbors to use our facility while theirs was being built, because they are our neighbors. Steve Stone, the pastor is a true believer that you love your neighbors.
I loved this story and found it to sooooo heart warming too.
James Aldrich, in his book, “Gentle Persuasion”, has a lovely expression: “love them until they ask why”.
I love this!
oh that all “church goers” could grasp the Truth you so eloquently share, so many think that they are the moral police of the universe and we run more off than we attract. keep up the good work.
Thank you!
Amen, preach it brother! (this coming from the tall white guy). And I am heartened to see this attitude more and more in the church – loving, working alongside our neighbor, and getting beyond the need to contest, correct, and convert each flaw.
If only we could see more of this in the political sphere here in the U.S. I’ve always been quite middle-of-the-road in my political opinions, appreciating the values of both sides and recognizing that our communities need different goals at different times. But lately it seems the parties are absolutely polarized and the tone is ever so spiteful.
One of the guys in our men’s ministry is thinking of throwing his hat in the ring for a vacant city council position in our little, left-wing, university town. I’m going to encourage him to go for it, not only because he has the background and temperament to do a great job, but because he would be salt and light in what has become a predictable and dark environment. (Steve S. – as a reader of this blog, if you’re reading this, know that I’m behind you! And I may start pushing soon.)
Some times we need to remember – Jesus is the only way to God, but we are not the only to Jesus.
I think this is a lesson that many of us have yet to learn, and others are still learning. Why would someone want to be a Christian when they see how unloving we can be, both to them and to each other?
As a wise friend of mine often says, we need to “come alongside”.
i agree, john … we so often presumptively step beyond our role, i’m afraid. we’re simply called to love and to point and to trust that the Holy Spirit will do the work of showing Christ as Lord and loving Saviour to the truly seeking heart. besides, He alone can do the merciful work of peeling away everything false and else embraced and establishing there the One who has so dearly forgiven and redeemed us. 🙂