This article is part two of a three-part series based on a message given on the first Sunday of Advent at Kuna Church of the Nazarene. Watch the full sermon here, beginning at 22:25.
Praying with our friends
This new relationship with Ishmael, his wife, and two children would have a meaningful and life-changing impact on our lives. As the weeks went by, our two families spent time together sitting by the lake talking, going to basketball games together, and getting to know each other better.
One day we got an urgent call asking if we could come to their house immediately. It was an hour's drive across town, so we got ready and left as soon as we could. When we arrived, they told us that day, while at school, their daughter and her friends had fallen into a well below a slab of concrete that nobody knew was there. At the bottom of the well, with her friend fallen in on top of her, she was immediately covered in cock-roaches while waiting for someone to rescue them.
“Would pray for our daughter,” Ishmael asked, “she is not injured, Praise be to Allah, but she has not spoken since she got home.”
We asked if we could put our hands on her arm and told them that we would like to pray in the name of Jesus for her healing and recovery from the shock of this traumatic experience.
“Yes, of course,” they answered, “please pray for her however you wish.”
So we did.
Day of Sacrifice
Several months later was a huge Islamic celebration—one of the biggest days of the year. All across the city rose early to pray at the Mosque. Unlike most morning prayers, however, on this day, in the courtyards and streets surrounding these places of worship, sheep and cattle were sacrificed and butchered as a way of remembering the time when Abraham was asked to offer his son as a sacrifice.
If you don’t the story, hold on for a moment.
Every year all across the city—and all across the globe—these sacrifices are made in hopes of earning God’s favor. They are an effort to tip the scales in one’s favor for the day when the day of judgment comes.
Let’s celebrate Christmas
This particular year, Christmas came just a short time after this Islamic holiday, so we decided to invite Ishmael and Dessy and their two children to our home to celebrate Christmas. When we asked them if they would come to our home to celebrate Christmas with us, they seemed a little bit confused—why are the Christians inviting their Muslim friends to their home to celebrate a Christian holiday? Confused or not, they happily accepted our invitation.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Do Everything In Love to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.