"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to
which you were called and about which you made the good confession in
the presence of many witnesses." --1 Timothy 6:12
Nabeel Qureshi. From what any of us
can know about him via the internet or his books, he was always full of grace, patience
and he always corrected, rebuked and encouraged with careful instruction. He may have lost the battle, but he fought a good fight.
Nabeel wrote the book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, and anyone
who has read it saw that he had a deep concern for showing respect toward his
Muslim friends and relatives. The Bible is very clear on how to win people to
Christ. Paul says, “When I am with the Jews, I become as a Jew so that I might
win them… I become all things to all men that I might win some” (1 Corinthians
9:20-22). So we see a taste of what Paul directed, and likewise, Peter
admonishes, “Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you of the
hope you have in you, but do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). I
would say that these must have been some of Nabeel’s life verses, because he so
naturally followed them. We can tell the character of a man if we are around
them long enough. The internet presence that Nabeel had was all one needed to
see his gentleness and genuine love for other people.
I remember first hearing of Nabeel’s
cancer when he went public with it, and thinking about how he might be leaving
his young wife and child behind. How hard it must be for them. My fervent prayers continue
to go out for his family.
But seriously, why am I writing all
of this anyways? I am writing to David Wood. David was, as Nabeel stated in Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, someone “whose
impact extends far beyond his contribution” and that Nabeel is “eternally
indebted to him for his faithful fulfillment of the call to reach out to a young, zealous Muslim
despite all the odds” (emphasis mine). Actually, I am writing this to the David Wood's all
over the world. The people who have taken in someone and brought them
close to themselves, they offered vulnerability and pressed down these barriers
that scream “I need to trust you before I let you in!”
These are the kinds of people who
have an eternal mindset. So many people get sucked in to the idea that they
cannot trust people, simply because they do not know them (I’m talking about
mature situations). These people have the mindset that their life is not as
important as getting someone to see the truth of Christ. We protect ourselves
to such a point today there is no chance for harm and we are so deeply afraid
of offending others that we don’t talk about “what is truth.”
It seems that 99% of the western
world today is chronically paranoid when it comes to other people; when it
comes to reaching out. I have been studying relationship interaction in society
lately and I find that people do not accept the truth even if they are
confronted with the facts because they consider themselves a part of a “tribe”
of something or someone. Take pro football for instance. Denver Broncos fans
are loyal because they consider themselves a part of that tribe. If they were
to speak against that tribe, then they would be betraying the other members of
that tribe. It is the same with all NFL fans. There really is no reason they
should like them anyways, it is not like they are actual buddies with the
players. There is probably not one NFL player in the whole league who knows who
I am. Yet why would someone like me like a particular team? Because I am part
of a tribe. A tribe member will not be disloyal, but will defend the tribe no
matter what.
The same goes for militant atheists.
They are also in a tribe. They consider themselves the pinnacle of intellect,
yet they are faced with miles of opposing facts, continually, and don’t budge an inch. Even when
faced with the facts, a tribe member will not let the other members down. Where
does such loyalty come from?! I would be willing to bet (monopoly money) that
employers dream of their people having such loyalty.
I was talking with someone the
other day and telling them about these things I was studying and all the
sudden, it hit me that two thousand years ago, the Bible give the answer to
this problem of tribe loyalty, even in the teeth of evidence (to use a now-popular
phrase). It is just as the David Woods of the world do. I already mentioned it.
It is found in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22. Paul says “I become all things to all men
that I might win some.” What does that mean? It means he gets on their level. Either
he brings himself up or lowers himself down. We are not going to reach a tribe
member if we are not gentle and respectful.
Practically speaking, this looks
like restraint: a measure or condition
that keeps someone or something under control or within limits. When we
have the knowledge to put someone in their place, we can’t do it
disrespectfully or we won’t get anywhere. The next time you get pulled over for
speeding or running a red light, tell the police officer he is wrong and let’s
see where that gets you.
In Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, Nabeel writes about how David continuously
and gently challenged him but was never flat-out disrespectful. David
frequently let Nabeel stew on things over night or even for several days. Paul
tells us to become like other people, but in reality, we won’t do that unless
we place ourselves in the midst of other people. David reached out, and look
what happened. Nabeel changed the world for Christ.
I just want this to soak in for a
moment. If we think about the seeds that we plant and how much one man’s life can
change the world for Jesus, shouldn’t this make us more encouraged, more on
fire for getting the word out to the lost? Shouldn’t it cause us to reach out
more often?
Therefore, to David Wood and all
like him out there, to all the apologists, teachers, pastors and Christians… reach
out to the lost. Take someone in. Get on their level. Pray for their
willingness to hear the Good News. Not only bring them to the foot of the
cross, but “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded
you” (Matthew 28:19-20; emphasis mine).
What has He commanded us? “You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On
these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew
22:37-40; emphasis mine). Please understand the correlation between these two passages. Love your neighbor as yourself. Teach them about Jesus. The deep concern here is, after all, where people spend eternity.
Written by Nace Howell through the
grace of the Lord Jesus.
© Nace Howell, 2017
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