“It’s in this book that I discovered the only true God and His words.”
But God uses those willing to be bold…
Being bold for the gospel draws attention. In Paul’s* community, boldness in sharing the gospel brings rejection and persecution. But God uses those willing to be bold for his truth in bringing others to the truth. Paul shares how Jamal’s* boldness impacted his family.
Jamal* comes from a large Muslim family. He is the second eldest. He has three sisters and four brothers. On his father’s side, he has an additional twelve half-brothers and sisters. With such a large family, there was much work to be done. Jamal was a committed Muslim. He was hardworking and disciplined. He helped his mother around the house. He was well-liked by his family, who admired his humble spirit and cooperation in the family.
When Jamal was 22 years old, he attended an evangelism activity in the city. Hearing the gospel, he accepted Jesus as his Savior. He was also given a Bible to take home and read.
When his mother discovered Jamal’s new faith, she became furious. Anger turned to sadness over his decision. Early one morning, she went into Jamal’s room and found him reading his Bible. She asked him, “Jamal, have you become a Kafir (a term used in Islam to refer to someone who disbelieves in God or rejects the message of Islam)?”
He answered her, “I am not a Kafir but a true follower of Jesus Christ.”
Hearing this, she became furious again. She grabbed the Bible from Jamal’s hands and threw it outside. She screamed, “In this home, you either choose me as your mother and stay here, or get up and carry your book and go away from my home!”
He got up, picked up his Bible, and began to pack his bag. He walked out of his mother’s house, leaving everything behind.
Seeing her son going out like that without saying a word brought her to tears. Crying, she ran out of the house after her son. Taking him by his hand, she said, “ Jamal, my son, you know that we love you. Not only me, but all your family members love you. Why should you choose to be a Kafir and follow this book of Kafir instead of coming back to our Islam?”
Jamal answered his mother, “You know I love you and I love all my family too, very much, but I love God more than anything else. This Bible, that you call the book of Kafir, I will tell you what I have found. It’s in this book that I discovered the only true God and His words. Since you said that I have to choose either this book or my family, I have no option but to leave.”
Devastated, his mother relented and took him back home. But secretly, she took the Bible from Jamal and brought it back to the church. She found me (Paul*) early in the morning and pleaded with me in front of my family, saying, “Paul, please take this Bible of yours and leave my son alone. We all love him and really don’t want him to be a Kafir.”
Taking the Bible, I told her. “Thank you for bringing the Bible back to the church, but I want you to know that your son has not chosen to be bad, or that he is following the wrong thing. He has started to follow God. Taking away the Bible from him, you are preventing him from reading the Word of the True God, knowing Him better. Let him tell you about it. You are persecuting your own son for the good thing he has started. You are being advised by people who will not lose anything, but you will lose your son. Jamal has experienced the truth, and he will not leave it. If you push him too hard, he will leave you.”
As she approached her home, Jamal met her and called out to her, saying. “Mama, know that both you and I are created by God, and he loves both of us. He wants us to be in a relationship with him. And without reading the Bible, we can’t know him. Please let us read this Bible together, to know the truth. If there is anything bad in it, then I will throw it away.”
It took some time, but Jamal’s mother began to listen to him. Her heart was opened to the truth of the gospel. Today, his mother, three of his sisters, and four of his brothers are all Christian.
In our community, being bold in your faith and Christian beliefs draws attention from the enemies of the gospel, but it makes them think about what they believe. We encourage believers to remain bold in front of others, even if they are family members, friends, bosses, or authorities. Through our boldness, we may be the way God chooses to bring salvation to those in the darkness.
*Names altered to protect the identity of those working in areas of increased persecution.