Person of Peace

by Gabriela Phillips

Yesterday, I was asked to train a group of Adventists who wanted to engage with Muslims during this month of Ramadan. Our conversation went something like this:

If we do not know where we are going, we may never get there. Do you know where you are going? Do you know what you are looking for? And when you find it, will you recognize it? In these last days, God is raising an end-time movement of people of true faith who will be known by certain traits; not labels. Do you know their traits? 

These are those who, one day, Jesus will recognize as his own. Now, listen to what Jesus is telling you, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16). Did you hear what Jesus’ is doing on behalf of these?  

And now you may be wondering, what are we supposed to do? Jesus has an answer, “‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs’” (John 21:15). Feed My lambs. So here we are, tonight we will be going into the mosque, and the question is why? Because at the mosque, God also has his people, true worshippers, living according to the light of truth that they have. And Jesus has been calling them to himself and some have responded. So, we need to find them and feed them with the Bread and Water of Life at the table of the Lord. Let's be clear, we are not going to the mosque to meet Muslims per se; we are going to meet with God’s people among the Muslims.

The question that we need to answer is, how are we to recognize who God’s people are in the hour or so that we will be there? What is the litmus test between very religious people, like the ones that Paul found in Athens, and people of true faith; Kingdom people? How do we find the kind of person that Luke 10 calls a “person of peace?” It’s not hard once you know how, and to do that, we need to generate “Kingdom conversations” so that those who are spiritually wired will recognize us as God’s people. 

If we speak about the weather or how misguided is the political party that I dislike, we won’t be creating a Kingdom-charged atmosphere that God’s people could connect with. Think of it like a magnet, when you are spiritually charged, metal will be drawn to you, and wood will avoid you. The question you should be asking me, is how do I get spiritually charged? What gets my battery full? Prayer. Don’t go to places trusting your knowledge, trust in God and ask him to infuse you with the atmosphere of heaven, so that others may sense it. There is nothing wrong with knowledge, it has its place, but if that is all you have, you will generate debates. Debates equate to heat; not light. There is a difference. 

I saw the group puzzled and excited, all at once. I was following two other presenters who had said similar things so our people were ready. Some parts may have seemed like a novel idea, but not completely so. After all, we all agree that mission is God’s job description, and we are recruited as agents in God’s mission. This is why it cannot fail. It’s not a church enterprise. It’s God’s. Now, don’t miss that God has appointed to himself a human-divine cooperation, so those who think that since God is in charge we can take a vacation, have not been reading their Bible carefully.

When the evening arrived, we went to a lovely large mosque. They had prepared an “iftar” meal for the community to break the fast together, It was an Ahmadyyah mosque so the focus on “Peace for All, Hatred for None” was very pronounced. That’s Kingdom language right there! 

At the door, we were greeted by a small group, mostly young people, excited to show the guests around their brand-new location. There was joy in the air. Ramadan is about community and great food, so this was a good start. The place was packed, and we prayed for God to bring to our table those he would pick up. Our time was divided, between the men and the women. I was with three other Adventists who wanted to see what this thing of finding people of peace looked like in real life.

We were ushered into tables of eight, I observed prayerfully each person, and when the time for ritual prayer came, only two stood up to leave the fellowship hall and go into the masjid to pray. One in particular looked very friendly, the gregarious type, engaging, the other was serious and hardly made eye contact with us. But I noted that she kept repeating to herself some learned prayers, she was religious, but was she spiritual? Now was the time to see.

Sisters, is this your mosque? I asked to break the ice. One of the young greeters said, “Yes.” The other said, “I am a friend of hers. I belong to a Baptist church nearby.” The lady who seemed very religious and her sister were guests too, they had come from far away and were originally from Bangladesh. So, after introducing ourselves, I asked, what do you like the most about Ramadan? Now, here is the key. Is the answer going to be personal, or is it going to be the right religious answer? One sister said, the food, well actually I should not say that but the prayer and fasting, in our religion this is very important. Another said, coming to the mosque, and being with friends. And then I turned to the Bangladeshi sister and this is what she said, “All year long I wait for this month, is like a time to reset and go back to God.” Can you hear the Kingdom language? It’s personal. This is a sign that God has been working in the life of this person and there is spiritual sensitivity.

I added, “How does that work for you?” (see the question is personal too, I am not looking for the official Islamic answer, I want to meet her). “Do you see dreams, feel peace, learn new things?”

Her answer was powerful. “Every year my favorite part is the last ten days of Ramadan, on the odd nights (21, 23, 25, 27, 29) we know that is ‘Lyalat al Qadr,’ the Night of power, is a night when God draws near to the world and we feel him close. It’s beautiful. So I stay awake all night till 5:30 to spend time with God (Allah). We don’t know which night exactly is it going to be, so just in case, I stay awake for those five nights.”

I asked, “So what happens?” She replied saying, “I pray and read the Qur’an and feel recharged spiritually. I love it.” Her hard features softened as she spoke about God in such a loving way. I asked, “Do you pray in Arabic only?” “No,” she responded, “when I am in prostration posture, I speak with God in my language and ask him everything.”

For the next thirty minutes, we spoke about the sweetness of being in God’s presence, the importance of prayer, and how to pray and listen to the call of God and leave the world behind to meet with our Lord. The night was fading, and the time had come for her to return to her home to spend in prayer, and here was the biggest surprise. Looking at me in the eye, she finished saying, “Today, I asked God to send someone here to the mosque to meet me, and now I know that He answered, it was you!” Then we hugged as tight as long-lost friends reunited because we could recognize our shared love for the One, who brought us side by side to Him.

Our Adventist sisters were surprised, humbled, and energized, now they could see what it means to participate with God in His mission. We don’t convert people, God’s Spirit does, we find those whom God had been preparing and “feed His lambs." 

If you are wondering if this is real, why not try it? If you need help training your church for cross-cultural mission and cultural intelligence, at the NAD we have resources to do just that. You can find articles and ideas on our Ramadan page found at https://amfa4nad.org/ or write to me at gabrielaphillips@nadadventist.org for more information about Adventist-Muslim Relations.

Gabriela Phillips is Director of Adventist-Muslim Relations at the North American Division.