When he was a boy, “Nader” seldom thought about God. “People told me not to do bad things, to go to the mosque,” he remembers. “I prayed five times a day. I fasted during Ramadan. But there was something missing. I needed God to fill my empty space.”
Nader decided to challenge God to reveal Himself. One day, a silent reply came. “Something in my spirit told me, ‘Don’t worry. I will not leave you alone. I will reach you. Be patient.’”
At age 18, Nader discovered an Arabic-language copy of John’s Gospel at a newsstand and didn’t realize it was part of the Christians’ holy Book. “I don’t know why I bought it, but I felt the need to,” he said. “I didn’t understand it all, but when I read the words I felt a beautiful sensation.”
Muslim friends who found him reading the book cautioned that he would be condemned as an unbeliever. But he kept secretly reading. His college studies brought distractions and exhausting years of work. During that time, Nader met two men who were experiencing great hardship and poverty, yet seemed happy. What did they have in common? They were followers of Christ.
“One of these men was suffering, yet he was so peaceful,” Nader recounts. “I asked him how he could be this way with so many problems. He said, ‘I know God. He forgave me, and He will forgive you.’ He awoke my old feeling about God and opened a door of hope.”
Nader had been warned never to enter a Christian church. One day while on a walk his feet took him to an unknown street. “I felt euphoric, like something good was about to happen,” he said. “Then I heard a strange sound.”
It was music — a hymn coming from a church on the street. Did he dare step in or not? He says he knew the choice would change his life forever.
“I found myself inside. It felt like it was not part of earth but of heaven. I felt I was in the spirit and out of my body. My job and studies didn’t matter.”
When Nader opened his eyes and looked around, a man approached. He told Nader about Jesus and connected him with other Christian students.
Over the following months, the man took risks to spend time teaching Nader about Jesus. One day the man said, “You now know about God. You believe in Jesus. Do you know what it means to follow Him, and can you pay the price?”
Nader knew the price could be everything — his future, his family, his life.
“It was a very hard decision,” he admits. “I cried and struggled. God said to me, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will make you strong.’” The year since has not been easy. Nader has told a few trusted friends of his decision, but not his family. He worries about the consequences of making his faith public, which could include anything from rejection to death. He longs to meet another Muslim-background follower of Christ. But deep down, he feels peace at last.
“Before, you could hurt me. Now no one can hurt me. I am full of God.” (BP)
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