“I offhandedly commented that God was quite aware of what I was doing right now as nothing was hidden from Him.”
Several years ago I joined a group of Christians to dialogue with Muslim people at a local mosque. I was excited at the prospect of sharing my faith and coming to understand the Muslim perspective on things a little better. However, the person who invited me to join the group neglected to tell me that our group's destination would be equivalent to Daniel and his friends entering the lion's den - there were only 13 Christians and at least 400 Muslims, with expert speakers from the States, whose sole goal was to debunk Christianity to their people - dialogue was not what they had in mind.
During one of the breaks, I ventured outback to see if there was a place I could smoke without giving offence to anyone. I spotted two young men smoking and went over and asked if they minded if I smoked with them. I was made quite welcome in spite of being a Christian, a smoker AND a woman. We exchanged a few jokes about our smoking condition and then a comment was made that we might get away with it now but one day our secret would be revealed in front of God. I offhandedly commented that God was quite aware of what I was doing right now as nothing was hidden from Him. The two young men looked at me quite astonished and asked if I wasn't afraid of dying and going in front of God. With a tremendous joy (that welled up from I don't know where), I told them "no, that I didn't have to wait to die to go in front of God because I was spiritually alive and in front of Him now." I explained how being born again meant I was alive to God immediately, and that death only meant my body had to fall down - I was already eternally alive and ever before God and therefore I had nothing to fear about meeting Him later. They were gob-smacked (blown away) and they asked me to wait while they ran to get someone whom they thought ought to hear what I had just said. I had no problem with that. After all, they had let me smoke with them. A few minutes later I heard the backdoor of the mosque open and I turned around.
I cannot begin to express the type and depth of terror that struck my heart as I watched over 40 men come out of the doors, following a young man all dressed in white, who was probably a mullah (I never did find out who or what his function was). He came to the bottom step and crouched down on it in front of me. He said he had heard that I had been saying very astonishing things and he wondered if I minded if he asked some questions. I was shaking (I'm sure it was quite visible) and praying frantically to the Lord along the lines "Jesus, help me. Oh, God, help me. Jesus, help me." You know, the hyperventilating prayer of the terrified. For some unknown reason I nodded my head that it was okay to ask me questions. He didn't waste anytime and shot at me straight from the hip. "You Christians say you believe in the Trinity - Father God, Jesus God, and Holy Spirit God. Therefore, you believe in 3 gods, do you not?"
Of all the concepts you could ask a Christian about, the Trinity is (and was for me) perhaps one of the most difficult to explain, and in that moment of terror I felt no different, but here was the answer the Lord gave me to give them. "I cannot speak as a theologian, I can only explain the Trinity in my simple understanding. [Believe me, until that moment, I didn't even know I had an understanding let alone a 'simple' understanding!] I am a daughter, a mother and a wife. Each is a distinct person to my father, children and husband. To my father I am a daughter, not his mother nor his wife. To my children I am a mother, not a daughter or a wife. To my husband I am a wife, not a daughter or a mother. To each of these people - father, children, husband, I have a distinct role. I appear to be three separate people, each with a distinct function. Yet, I am one person. This is like the Trinity."
There was absolute silence as I spoke and when I stopped, the young Mullah looked distressed and annoyed and immediately began to ask me another question, but right then someone came out of the mosque and said that the break was over and everyone should go back inside. I was overwhelmed with relief as everyone obeyed the call to return to the dialogue. Over the years I have prayed for the two nameless young men and I often wonder if I shall see their wonder-struck eyes in Heaven one day.
Easter is a celebration of life - a celebration of the life of Jesus - God come in the flesh - and the 33 years He spent living and walking among the people of the Earth. It is also a celebration of the new life found in and through the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. I hope you will celebrate this Easter by declaring your new life in Christ to someone who has not heard the Good News of the eternal life they can begin living now here on Earth through Jesus. Look for someone to astonish with your lack of fear because you know the truth of 'if God be for us, who shall stand against us' inherent in the Good News. May the Lord bless you with a bone-shaking moment of terror that leads you to sow seeds in a place where you least expect it.
Madelaine is a wonderful friend and writer.
Thanks, Maddie, for your unique perspective! — Grant