In today's sermon we're going to hear a bit about the testimony of Nabeel Qureshi, a man who converted from Islam to become a follower of Christ. The process was long and painful, but as he persistently studied the evidence for each belief, he came to the conclusion that Jesus was indeed the Son of God who died and rose again. As you would expect, this completely changed his life, but it also forever changed how he saw others. Listen to the moment when he first saw someone in a new light; perhaps it will help us to see people the same way. He said:Then I saw something that I had seen countless times before; a man walking down the sidewalk toward the medical school. But that was not all I saw. Though I had no idea who this man was, I knew he had a dramatic story, replete with personal struggles, broken relationships, and splintered self-worth. Taught by the world that he was an outcome of blind evolution, he subconsciously valued himself as exactly that: a byproduct of random chance, with no purpose, no hope, no meaning except what pleasure he could extract out of the day. Chasing these pleasures resulted in guilt and pain, which caused him to chase more pleasure, which led to more guilt and more pain. Burying it all just beneath the surface, he went about his day with no clue how to break the cycle, hoe to find true hope. What I saw was a man who needed to know that God could rescue him, that God had rescued him. This man needed to know about God and His power. Did he know? Did he know that God loved him from the foundation of the earth? With a power far exceeding the immensity of the cosmos, He turned all His attention to creating that man and declared, "You are My child. I love you." Did he know that God made him exactly how He wanted, knowing each hair on his head and each second of his life? God knew full well that the hands He gave to this man would be used to sin against Him, that the feet He gave to this man would be used to walk away from Him. Yet, instead of withholding these gifts, He gave him the most precious gift of all: His own Son. Did he know that God entered into this world, to suffer in his stead? Received with slaps and fits by the very people He came to save, He was scourged until His skin fell off in ribbons, only to be pierced through both arms and feet, nailed naked on wood for all to ridicule? He scraped His skinless back on splintered wood with each rasping breath, His last breath finishing the task of rescuing us, securing our eternity with Him. Did he know? Of course not. We have to tell him. While I was wallowing in self-pity, focused on myself, there was a whole world with literally billions of people who had no idea who God is, how amazing He is, and the wonders He has done for us. They are the ones who are really suffering. They don't know His hope, His peace, and His love that transcends all understanding. They don't know the message of the gospel. After loving us with the most humble life and the most horrific death, Jesus told us, "As I have loved you, go and love one another. "How could I consider myself a follower of Jesus if I was not willing to live as He lived. To die as He die? To love the unloved and give hope to the hopeless? This is not about me. It is about Him and His love for His children. Now I knew what it meant to follow God. It meant walking boldly by His Spirit of grace and love, in the firm confidence of everlasting life given through the Son, with the eternal purpose of proclaiming and glorifying the Father. Now I had found Jesus.
