A few months ago I was talking to a little Muslim boy about Jesus. For our purposes lets call him Mustafa.
I asked him “What do they teach you at mosque about Jesus?” Mustafa’s big brown eyes grew enormous and full of fear. He said “DON’T EVER SAY THAT NAME!!!!!!! I AM NOT EVER ALLOWED TO SAY THAT NAME!” Of course I was curious as to why a little innocent 7 year old should be so afraid of the name that we know brings life and healing.
He proceeded to tell me a story that is taught to the children in his mosque. They are told a very graphic story of a man who was tormented to his grave by a snake because he preached about Jesus. When the man realized the snake was after him he asked for help and no one came to his rescue.
AWEFUL RIGHT!!!!!!!!?????
This poor child was SCARED! So I gently explained to Mustafa that the name of Jesus is a beautiful name and that there is safety in it...that Jesus wants to be Mustafa’s best friend and that he is loved. I gave him a homework assignment...ask Jesus to show himself in a special way to prove that He is real.
This happened about 2 months ago.
I haven’t seen the boy until today. Excitedly I asked Mustafa “Did you do the homework I gave you?” With a big grin on his little face he said YES! The first thing I noticed was that he kept repeated the name of Jesus!! Then he told me a story that had my jaw on the floor.
Two months ago he was left alone in the house with a babysitter. The house was dark (the electricity was probably out) the parents and the older siblings were out and the sitter had fallen asleep. Mustafa was feeling lonely and unloved so he went out into the backyard and said “Jesus if you are real show yourself to me!”
Suddenly a light appeared in the dark yard and a voice whispered to him
“I AM REAL, FOLLOW ME!”
I must admit at this point the skeptic in me began to raise its ugly head, but God was quick to quiet my mind and allowed me to really SEE the boy's face. In his eyes was a light that wasn’t there before. In his eyes was a wonder at the beauty and majesty of what he had witnessed.
When I asked him how it made him feel, he said “It made my heart feel warm and happy and peaceful”.
CAN SOMEBODY SHOUT HALLELUJAH!? PREACH!!!!!
I then asked him if had told his parents what happened. He told me that no, he hadn’t because he was afraid that his parents would think he was insane.
Mustafa hopes the Jesus will speak to him in his dreams! WOW!!!!
I didn’t feel a release to ask him if he wanted to accept Jesus yet. I know that it will happen in God’s timing and in a way this precious little boy will know is personal just for him.
Pray for Mustafa and his family! Pray that Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Light will reveal himself to the entire family.
