Over the past week, I have been spending much time reflecting on some things the Lord did in my heart in South Korea last fall. I have gone through my pictures over and over, and it has been such a blessing to have all the memories come flooding back of things the Lord did during the 2014 Asian Games Outreach. I wanted to share with you something the Lord impressed on my heart during that time.
While on our trip to South Korea, the Lord gave me the opportunity to
speak with many athletes, most of which were Arabs from Muslim countries. These
people come from countries within the 10/40 window that have most likely never
before heard the Gospel. Due to all that we hear on the media about Muslims and
Islam, we tend to have a very skewed view of these people. We have allowed
others to pour twisted information into our minds that has given us a large
misconception of these people. Yes, there are those that hold to all of Islamic
beliefs and practices, but the average Muslim you speak to knows very little
about the Qu'ran and Islamic beliefs and practices. They are simply Muslim
because they were born that way. While at the Asian Games, the Lord truly
opened my eyes to see these people as souls and not as those to be afraid of.
As I began to reach out to and talk to these people, I discovered they are very
willing to listen and are quite receptive to the Gospel - once they see you
actually take an interest in them and care about them. Some of the best
conversations I had while in South Korea were with Muslims, and by the time we
left, the Lord had given me a whole new perspective with them. He allowed me to
see them through His eyes as souls - souls that are lost and dying, souls that
have no hope, souls that are searching for the truth, souls that need a Saviour
just as much as the rest of us. Do we care about these souls? We might SAY we
do, but what are we doing to reach them? Or are we trapped in fear, our mind
filled with misconceptions of these people, not willing to reach out to them
because we value our earthly lives more than the destination of their eternal
soul? Upon coming home the Lord confirmed my heart in the matter while sitting
in a class at Master's Baptist College. Missionary Noah George to Lebanon brought a presentation to us about Islam, Muslims, and the Gospel. The things he spoke on were EXACTLY what the Lord had impressed on my heart over the past two
weeks and opened my eyes to. It was an encouragement to me. It enlarged the
flame that the Lord had begun burning in my heart for these people over the two weeks in South Korea. They have very little hope of hearing the Gospel. Why? Because
WE are not willing to go. WE are not willing to share the Gospel with these
people. The bottom line is - WE are selfish. We care more about ourselves than
we do about others and we are not willing to put our lives on the line to share
the Gospel with them. We need to open our eyes as Christians and see these
people as souls - just like every other soul around us. We need to stop
listening to those that are planting evil thoughts in our minds about these
people and realize that they too are searching for something that satisfies.
They too are searching for the Truth. Are we going to share it with them?
"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and
how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they
hear without a preacher?" Rom. 10:14