Meeting Muslims right where you are.
Unspeakable Journey is a novel about a woman that makes a late night stop for a few groceries and ends up transported halfway around the world. She is forced into a culture that is foreign, confusing, and overwhelming. It is a nightmare she prays will end, but it does not. Soon Isabella is faced with a dilemma. She can sulk and wallow in self-pity or she can embrace and love the people around her the way God loves them. She still longs to get home to her husband and kids, but as long as she is forced to stay, she will choose to be the hands and feet of Christ.
Many of you have already read this novel, and a few have asked, “What can I do?” Isabella’s love for the Muslim women around her has awakened a desire in readers to reach out to this culture many of us know very little about. Recently, I learned about Crescent Project. Crescent Project’s mission is to enable Christians in North America to share the hope of Jesus with Muslims. It is their goal that each of the seven million Muslims living in North America will meet an authentic Christian and hear the Good News of Jesus. They offer prayer requests, background information on Muslims, training for effective ministry among Muslims, local outreach opportunities, and short term trips. You can find out more information about the Crescent Project here.
I also wanted to bring to your attention an upcoming event offered by the Crescent Project. They are hosting an event called Can You See Me? on May 13, 2011, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the East 91 Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. The goal of this event is to teach others about social injustices affecting women in the Muslim world. Muslim women can be found all over North America and eagerly want to be loved and appreciated, just like you. Some of these women experience social injustices and have no one to advocate on their behalf. Although not all Muslim women experience abuse, unfortunately, abuse among Muslim women is all too common. Some of these abuses include: honor killings; domestic abuse; female genital mutilation; religious persecution; rape; and nikah mut’ah (allowing men to take a temporary wife). If you are interested in learning more about difficulties faced by many Muslim women living here in our own communities, register here.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10
Tell me what beauty really means.
I was listening to Mercy Me’s Beautiful from their new album called Mr. Lovewell. Here is the first verse and chorus:
Days will come when you don’t have the strength
And all you hear is you’re not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart
They’d see too much
You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You’re beautiful
There is something very powerful in these lyrics that speaks to my heart, and it made me think about the actual meaning of beauty. The World English Dictionary lists these two definitions:
- the combination of all the qualities of a person or thing that delights the senses and please the mind.
- a very attractive and well-formed girl or woman
What do you think of when you hear the word beautiful? Do you think of a fashion model, an actress, the popular girl in school, an NFL cheerleader, or something else? These are clearly things that the world would label “beautiful”, but they don’t come close to matching the first definition above.
Because I consider God to be the master artist, it made me pause and examine what he considers beautiful. Isaiah 52: 7 “How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him who brings good news.” Jesus makes this reference to the woman that anoints his feet with oil, Mark 14: 6 “She has done a beautiful thing to me.” Romans 10: 15 “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.” Proverbs 31: 30 “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” I Peter 3: 4 “But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”
The Bible paints a very different picture of beauty, doesn’t it? The world says that beauty is something that you are born with, lucky to have, and lacking if those around you do not admire your external appearance. Commercials, movies, sports, (and even some of my friends and me) give too much value to being attractive and well formed. From a young age we are persuaded to buy into this view, but look again at these few verses. The only reference to superficial beauty in this list (Proverbs 31:30) claims that it is vain. All the other references refer to an internal beauty, or an action that makes a person beautiful, even calling that type of beauty “imperishable”. Internal beauty will show through the façade and illuminate us with a spirit that will draw those interested in true beauty. I need reminded that beauty is really a reflection that radiates Christ (his love and his hope) to those around me everyday, and this is the type of beauty I try to incorporate into the characters I write about.
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