They’re in our news, they’re in our towns, they’re in our society, and they’re our neighbors. The people that many of us immediately judge and hate for actions brought upon our country in the form of September 11th. I’m talking about our neighbors the Muslims. I know the harsh feelings we have against their belief, especially the so-called “radicals” that are out for our blood. But we overlook the everyday followers of Islam here in our own country.
I recently had the wonderful opportunity of attending a Bible Study at my local church led by Rev. Karim, a Pastor with first hand experience with our Muslim neighbors. He was of the Muslim faith and is now a LCMS Lutheran Pastor that focuses on teaching his neighbors about who Christ really is. Because he was of the Islamic faith he has a very personal and first hand perspective of what we, as Christians, should do concerning the Islamic religion.
We are at war right now with Middle Eastern countries and Muslims are in most of our daily news reports. But, they are also in our very own communities. I was walking through the mall just the other day and saw quite a few Muslim families (identifiable by the Woman’s wardrobe). They are quite literally on our doorsteps.
Rev. Karim has a wonderful way of saying what the point I’m making is. He states that our Muslim neighbors are a product of how sick our world is. They are just like you and me, sinful and unclean. The Islamic religion is nothing but the symptom of a greater problem, SIN. It’s nothing new, but we as Christians know the answer to it. We know that we are saved from our sins through the grace of God, we as Lutherans know that we are shown mercy through His Holy Sacraments, and we know that through the shedding of Blood on the Cross eternal life is ours. Why then do we run from the duty that Christ gave us, saying, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Could our task not be made any easier, the nations have come to us, we don’t have to even leave town. We concentrate so much on overseas missions (don’t get me wrong I think they’re important also) that we overlook a growing problem here in our very own homes.
As John 16: 2 & 3 (ESV) says, “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming then whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.” We are so quick to want to sentence these people to death (yes I have heard many people say that we should just blow up all of the Middle East) when we are told instead to love them as our neighbors and pray for them, for they do not know the Triune God.
A very good example of this comes straight from the Bible. “When the days drew near to him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.” (Luke 9: 51-56) Rev. Karim calls the Samaritans in this story the Muslim people for our very situation is the same.
What James and John said is exactly what happened on September 11th. Our first reaction is always revenge, but Christ calls for mercy. In our sinful nature, we are incapable of showing any type of mercy towards our neighbors. Nothing good lives in us, for it is through Christ’s salvation that our works are good. It is through Him that we can show that mercy and tell others of His everlasting love.
Christ has already won all of our battles for us, now it is His salvation that has won our War. We are the victors through Christ, and the Muslim people should also know what Christ has done for them, for he did come to save ALL men from their sin. So, we should not damn them to hell, but instead share the Gospel. They are our neighbors, and they deserve to know the truth that God has given us through Word and Sacrament.
by Kelsey Fischer
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