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THE RACE - ISSUE 4
The Cost
Remember walking down an aisle at a revival service? Or
perhaps, remember going through a catechism class or maybe a discipleship
course? For many of us the decision to give our lives to Christ and to
follow Him was a relatively simple choice. We have grown up in attending
church services; our culture has been influenced by Christian morality and
doctrine. Yet, for some, family members did question why they decided to
become a Christian; they were considered "weird" for choosing to follow
Christ. But even in these situations, losing one's life for his faith was
not a real threat.
For some, it is.
In Algeria, a country that
is overwhelmingly Islamic, the choice to follow Christ will bring about
hardship and persecution. Some who might even consider following Christ are
afraid of their families' reaction and official oppression.
To become
a Christian in North Africa, one must truly count the cost of following
Jesus. "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me." (Mark 8:34) Many who have become Christians have been
kicked out of their families' homes, lost their jobs, been jailed, beaten,
threatened, and killed.
For an Algerian, the decision to follow Jesus is
not a simple one of walking down an aisle. Rather, one knows that in
becoming a Christian, it cold mean the loss of all things- expects one's
faith in Christ.
One North African friend, Ahmed, was interested in the
New Testament and in Jesus, but felt, as a Muslim, that Christianity could
not be correct. Over time, his desire to know more about Christ warred with
his Islamic faith. Late one night as the pressure within Ahmed's heart
mounted, he demanded of God, "God, You made me. I did not ask to be
created. So, You do not have the right to keep me in the dark about this
matter. If Islam is true, then, I follow Islam. But if Christianity is true
and if Jesus is truly who the Bible says He is, then, I follow Christ with
all my heart." His heart was changed at that moment, and now he is following
and serving Christ, making Him known to his countrymen.
Yet, he lost
his job, his family ostracized him, he has been jailed and questioned
periodically, and he has received threats all because of his choice to follow
Jesus. For Ahmed, the words of Galatians 2:20 have great meaning.
"I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
For Ahmed, the cost
to not follow Christ was far greater than the choice to follow Him. Ahmed is
sure that to follow Christ is worth giving one's all- even one's own
life.
Please, pray for the many "Ahmed's" in Algeria. Pray for seekers
to be dramatically confronted with their own personal need of salvation . . .
and to be given the God-given courage to follow Christ Jesus.
The Algerian Arab Team
therace@therace.ws
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