Forced to Leave

“Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.’” Mark 10:29-30, NASB.

For many Muslim-background believers the decision to follow Christ results in being exiled from family and community. One of the challenges of reaching the Muslim peoples of the Pacific Rim is finding ways to help these new believers develop an identity that is true to the Gospel, yet allows them to remain in the community as salt and light.

One Sunday morning a Muslim woman named Shelly* walked in off the street into a Christian worship service. The church had not invited her or any other Muslim for fear of being closed or persecuted. The woman came on her own initiative. As she listened to the sermon the Holy Spirit began a work in her heart. The pastor could see that she was visibly moved by the message, and afterwards he invited her to place her faith in the Lord Jesus. With tears in her eyes she accepted the invitation and committed herself to follow Christ.

The next morning, with a large cross around her neck, she presented herself to the local police. She wanted to make sure that the authorities knew that she had made her own decision and the church had not invited her to come or forced her to make any decision. Her desire was to protect the church. The pastor knew nothing about her plans, and had not advised her to turn herself in to the police.

When her family found out about her decision to follow Jesus they were furious. They sent her to an Islamic camp, because Muslims believe that wrong actions and decisions spring from a lack of knowledge. If people are given the proper training and information, then they will do the reasonable thing and change their behavior.

After several months Shelly returned from camp. She was given a job at a family-owned business so she could be closely watched. Shelly complied with her family’s wishes to stay confined and under close observation, but she refused to give up following Jesus. Shelly decided to move to another city where she could have a fresh start away from the ostracism of family and community.

Shelly was fortunate. Many Muslim families refuse to accept it when a member chooses to follow Jesus. Shelly could have been completely cut off from her family. She could have been sent to Islamic camp for an indefinite time period. The social, physical and psychological pressures that the family could have used against Shelly are formidable, but by God’s grace Shelly got off relatively easy.

While it is too late to tell with regard to Shelly, believers need to think about what they might do differently to help Muslim-background believers to embrace faith in Jesus without needlessly getting exiled from their communities. Shelly came to her people carrying a cross because that is what she thought it meant to follow Jesus. Yet we all know that the symbol of the cross is not necessary for salvation. For us, the cross is a symbol of God’s greatest expression of love; for many Muslims it is a symbol of aggression – from the Crusades until today.

What other symbols or practices might the church have that are needless barriers to brothers and sisters coming to faith from an Islamic background? What would you have told Shelly if she had walked in off the street into your church?

*Names changed or omitted for security reasons.

Pray that:

Believers in Shelly’s town will overcome fear and prejudice to witness boldly to Muslim people.

God will give believers wisdom as they seek to help Muslim-background believers follow Jesus without having to leave their family and community.

God will bring believers into Shelly’s life and the life of the man sent into exile so they can be discipled and encouraged in the faith.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.