“A little more bloodshed and things will be fine in America…”

“A little more bloodshed and things will be fine in America,” a Muslim family who has lived in America for 10 years told me. “

I was on the Shuttle connection between the International Terminal to the domestic one, in Atlanta, USA. As I sat in the chair, I saw in front of me a man and a woman speaking Dari, the Afghan language. Because I speak this language, I suddenly started talking to them. Talking, I understood that they had been in America for 10 years and that they had fled Afghanistan because of the war and the terror to which they had been exposed. Seeing how excited they were about America, I asked them if they had had the opportunity to read the Gospel (Gospel) for 10 years. They changed their faces and the woman in a very arrogant tone answered me: “We do not need to read the Injil, because we Muslims have the Qur’an and in it is everything, even the Injil”. When I told her that was not the case, because the Qur’an itself tells Muslims to read the Scriptures beforehand, referring to the Torah, Zabur (Psalms), and Injil, she sarcastically told me the following:

• “Listen to what I want to tell you.” Have you ever seen an old phone, which when you have to talk you have to open it and then when you finish talking, bend it back to close?
• Yes, I told him, I know what you’re talking about.
• Then, look, she told me, your Christianity is like this old phone, which needs a lot of updating, while Islam is Iphone 7.
• I was not surprised by this comparison, because it was not the first time I had heard it…
  But, hearing this, I also asked:
• Did you say you came from Afghanistan?
• Yes, they told me.
• And you said you ran away because people are bad and they fight each other all the time? Then you contradict yourself a little, don’t you think? Afghanistan is a 99% Muslim country. If you have fled a country that is 99% ruled and populated by the teachings of Islam which according to you is “Iphone 7″, how come you came to this country which is based on Christian principles and which has risen on Christian principles? So I understand you like your old phone better than your iPhone 7? I don’t know how we got to talk about Muhammad’s life and it was said that he, being considered by Muslims the greatest prophet of all, however, at the age of 50, he married Aisha, who was only 6 years old. I showed my perplexity. To which he replied: “Then things were different, society and thinking were different. Now things have changed.” Did I also reply if it was just such an “update”?

The angry woman said to me, “You don’t know the history of this country! You have no idea how much blood our Muslims shed to build and develop America! ”

What she said after these words really got me thinking… The Afghan woman added: “A little more bloodshed and things will be fine in America.”

I sat and meditated on these words and became sad. A family that ran away from a society in which you have the impression that it is not blood that flows through the veins, but Islam. Ten years ago, they found refuge and shelter in this country, which provided them with a home and a meal. They have seen a completely different society, which is governed by principles of thinking and acting diametrically opposed to those in their country, and yet after 10 years their thinking has not changed at all, moreover it seems to be getting worse. I wondered how things would have turned out if there had been Christians in these 10 years who would be interested in these people and seek to fulfill not only their material need, but primarily their spiritual need. If in these 10 years there were people who showed Christ and His love for them, I am sure that the ideas and thinking of these people would have changed a lot.

I also thought about the refugees who are now in Europe. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus commanded the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. The disciples of Christ, the true Christians, are called to go to all nations (Matthew 28: 19-20). But it seems that the so-called Christian countries have sent too few missionaries to these countries to carry the gospel of Christ, and that is why God has decided, if we do not go, to bring them to us, so that they can hear the gospel at home. They come and while they become our neighbors, our colleagues at work, at university, at school, we continue to be silent and believe that by telling them the gospel we could offend them or as some believe “religion is a private matter.” It is not Christian to think so. Jesus died in public, not in private, and made a public call to all when he said:

Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 NASB)

And the apostle Paul wondered:

How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” (Romans 10:14-15 NASB)

I would like to address all my American and European friends through this article. My dear ones, God has allowed all these people to come to you without anyone asking your permission. They are already in your country and that is a fact. Among them are people who truly seek God, but how will they hear if we are silent?

A Syrian family, a year ago when they arrived in Germany, their mother and daughter took off their headscarves and said they wanted to be free. They were open to seeking the truth in Christianity, but within a year these women decided to put on the shawl again and be very strict Muslims. Why? There are many reasons, but this must also be a lesson for us Christians. If we are ashamed to speak with love, while openly preaching the gospel, then how will they hear and believe? Let us say with the apostle Paul:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16 NASB)

May God help us to be His living witnesses and to carry out the ministry of reconciliation to every creature around us!

Translated by Didina Vicliuc