I met Ahmad (not his real name) at an inter-religious meeting. I was surprised to see this couple sitting at the back of the hall – a tall serious man and a beautiful blond lady who was translating for him.
Later on, I learned who they are. Ahmad was born in a family of Alevite Muslims. If you are just like me, you probably don’t know who Alevites are. Ahmad explained: He was so dissatisfied with this religious practice that he set on finding the true God and true religion. However, there was only one Christian church in his town – a Catholic one. Thus, Ahmad became a Catholic. To his dismay, the worship services somehow resembled the ones he was trying so hard to leave behind. “I could not understand why these people worship paintings and stone statues, so I had to move on with my search for truth,” says Ahmad. He came across some Evangelicals and thought this made much more sense.
But both his family and townsfolk kept pressing him to give up on his faith in Christ. He really had it hard! The police have severely beaten him and his relatives threatened to behead him. All this time he was all alone in his search. Then a weird idea struck his mind: Why don’t I pray to God to reveal Himself in a very specific way, without any trace of doubt? So, he prayed: God, please send me a wife – tall, blond and the one that can teach me about You. Very peculiar prayer, indeed!
I am sure God smiled at this child of His and mischievously arranged an on-line meeting with a tall, blond lady who spoke Ahmad’s native language! She lived in Western Europe so, after a time of on-line communication and falling in love, he went to meet her in person and she was everything he wanted in a wife! But God had more surprises in stock for Ahmad! He was answering Ahmad’s prayer in full! Because the tall blond beauty was Adventist! She heartfully shared her faith and Ahmad realized that this was what he was looking for his entire life. They got married and moved back to his wife’s homeland.
He shared his life story with us prior to his baptism. When asked whether he would like to pray, he seriously replied: “Anytime, anywhere!”
How does he envision God’s calling to him from now on? “I need to go back to my town and destroy that idol-worship practice!” This reminded me of Gideon who destroyed the image of Baal in his hometown. I hope and pray that God would use our modern-day hero in a mighty way!
Godspeed, dear Ahmad, I am “confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it” (Phil. 1:6). I can’t wait to see what God will do through you!
