“Then I saw something that I had seen countless times before: a man walking down the sidewalk toward the medical school.
But that was not all I saw. Though I had no idea who this man was, I knew he had a dramatic story, replete with personal struggles, broken relationships, & splintered self-worth. Taught by the world that he was an outcome of blind evolution, he subconsciously valued himself as exactly that: a byproduct of random chance, with no purpose, no hope, no meaning except what pleasures he could extract out of the day. Chasing these pleasures resulted in guilt & pain, which caused him to chase more pleasures, which led to more guilt & more pain. Burying it all just beneath the surface, he went about his day with no clue how to break the cycle, how to find true hope.
What I saw was a man who needed to know that God could rescue him, that God had rescued him. This man needed to know about God & His power.
Did he know?
Did he know that God loved him from the foundations of the earth? With a power far exceeding the immensity of the cosmos, He turned all His attention to creating that man & declared, ‘You are My child. I love you.’
Did he know that God made him exactly how He wanted, knowing each hair on his head & each second of his life? God knew full well that the hands He gave to this man would be used to sin against Him, that the feet He gave to this man would be used to walk away from Him. Yet, instead of withholding these gifts, He gave him the most precious gift of all: His own Son.
Did he know that God entered into this world for him, to suffer in his stead? Received with slaps & fists by the very people He came to save, He was scourged until His skin fell off in ribbons, only to be pierced through both arms & feet, nailed naked on wood for all to ridicule. He scraped His skinless back on splintered wood with each rasping breath, His last breath finishing the task of rescuing us, of securing our eternity with Him.
Did he know?
Of course not. We have to tell him.
While I was wallowing in self-pity, focused on myself, there was a whole world with literally billions of people who had no idea who God is, how amazing He is, & the wonders He has done for us. They are the ones who are really suffering. They don’t know His hope, His peace, & His love that transcends all understanding. They don’t know the Message of the Gospel.
After loving us with the most humble life & the most horrific death, Jesus told us, ‘As I have loved you, go & love one another.’ How could I consider myself a follower of Jesus if I was not willing to live as He lived? To die as He died? To love the unloved & give hope to the hopeless?
This is not about me. It is about Him & His love for His children.
Now I knew what it meant to follow God. It meant walking boldly by His Spirit of grace & love, in the firm confidence of everlasting life given through the Son, with the eternal purpose of proclaiming & glorifying the Father.”
-- Nabeel Qureshi, in Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
But that was not all I saw. Though I had no idea who this man was, I knew he had a dramatic story, replete with personal struggles, broken relationships, & splintered self-worth. Taught by the world that he was an outcome of blind evolution, he subconsciously valued himself as exactly that: a byproduct of random chance, with no purpose, no hope, no meaning except what pleasures he could extract out of the day. Chasing these pleasures resulted in guilt & pain, which caused him to chase more pleasures, which led to more guilt & more pain. Burying it all just beneath the surface, he went about his day with no clue how to break the cycle, how to find true hope.
What I saw was a man who needed to know that God could rescue him, that God had rescued him. This man needed to know about God & His power.
Did he know?
Did he know that God loved him from the foundations of the earth? With a power far exceeding the immensity of the cosmos, He turned all His attention to creating that man & declared, ‘You are My child. I love you.’
Did he know that God made him exactly how He wanted, knowing each hair on his head & each second of his life? God knew full well that the hands He gave to this man would be used to sin against Him, that the feet He gave to this man would be used to walk away from Him. Yet, instead of withholding these gifts, He gave him the most precious gift of all: His own Son.
Did he know that God entered into this world for him, to suffer in his stead? Received with slaps & fists by the very people He came to save, He was scourged until His skin fell off in ribbons, only to be pierced through both arms & feet, nailed naked on wood for all to ridicule. He scraped His skinless back on splintered wood with each rasping breath, His last breath finishing the task of rescuing us, of securing our eternity with Him.
Did he know?
Of course not. We have to tell him.
While I was wallowing in self-pity, focused on myself, there was a whole world with literally billions of people who had no idea who God is, how amazing He is, & the wonders He has done for us. They are the ones who are really suffering. They don’t know His hope, His peace, & His love that transcends all understanding. They don’t know the Message of the Gospel.
After loving us with the most humble life & the most horrific death, Jesus told us, ‘As I have loved you, go & love one another.’ How could I consider myself a follower of Jesus if I was not willing to live as He lived? To die as He died? To love the unloved & give hope to the hopeless?
This is not about me. It is about Him & His love for His children.
Now I knew what it meant to follow God. It meant walking boldly by His Spirit of grace & love, in the firm confidence of everlasting life given through the Son, with the eternal purpose of proclaiming & glorifying the Father.”
-- Nabeel Qureshi, in Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
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