Just a short while ago, while I was waiting for my grandmother to finish with her doctor’s appointment, I had the chance to share the Gospel with Achmed, a Palestinian Muslim who manages a Pizza Inn restaurant in Oklahoma City.
When I first approached the guy as he was smoking outside the back of the restaurant, I thought he would say he was from eastern Europe, maybe Greece or something. Then he said he was from Jerusalem, and I asked if he was Jewish. When he said no, I knew that he must then be Palestinian.
During our 15 minute conversation, Achmed kept trying to talk about how all religions are the same, and that we just need to be ‘good people’ and everything will be cool. Instead of really arguing with him about anything, I kept bringing the conversation back to something much more relevant to both of us. I tried to explain to him the reality of sin and the fact that we must stand before the judgement throne of a good God, no matter what we might believe.
As he began to better understand the nature of sin (that God judges even the thoughts and intentions of the heart, not just our outward actions), then it became easier for him to understand why Christians believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. We trust in Christ as our Savior because we know that we would stand condemned without Him. Jesus alone paid the penalty for our sins, and we have no hope outside of the cross of Christ.
Although Achmed did not ‘convert’ to Christianity on the spot, we did have a good, civil conversation about very important eternal matters. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would convince Achmed of ‘sin, righteousness, and judgement’, and that he would come repentant before the throne of grace and find mercy from God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
