Trying to Snuff Out the Candle of Jesus’ Light
For all of his 60 years, Karim* had been a staunch Muslim in a rural area of Bangladesh where few knew of anyone who was not a Muslim.
Leaving Islam was also unheard of. If escaping hell fires was hard enough as a Muslim, no one wanted to think about guaranteeing eternal punishment and expulsion from the community by opting out.
So when a young Bangladeshi from outside the village began visiting homes and telling families about Jesus, Karim was as perplexed as he was scornful. What was behind such madness? He was able to laugh off the native missionary until his 25-year-old son, Jamal, told him that he had become a Christian.
Jamal was very dear to him, but after Karim saw how deeply his youngest son had latched on to the Jesus faith the native missionary preached, he realized what danger loomed. Unless he cut Jamal off from the family, the community would socially and economically cut off his family – or worse.
When Karim saw how deeply his youngest son had latched on to the Jesus faith, he realized what danger loomed.
Karim told Jamal he could no longer live in their house. He also told Jamal that he was no longer his son. As Jamal left with no plans for shelter, Karim reasoned that he still had two sons left.
Within days, Karim fell seriously ill. He visited several doctors, including a specialist in India, without seeing any change. He was in desperate condition when Jamal, who had taken refuge with Christians in another village, dared to visit him.
“Can I pray for you, Dad?” Jamal said. “Jesus can heal you.”
At that point Karim felt he had nothing to lose. Jamal prayed for him in the name of Jesus, and he visited for the next three days, continuing to pray.
“After the third day of prayer, Karim began to feel some change in his body and felt better, and in the next few days, he completely recovered and realized the power of the Lord Jesus in his healing,” the leader of the native ministry said. “Finally, he talked to his son Jamal and accepted the Lord as his personal Savior.”
Many Muslims and others are coming to Christ in Bangladesh and other countries in South Asia through the boldness of such native missionaries and face similar persecution from family and community members.
“Discipleship is so important for these new believers to be able to remain strong in their new faith in Christ,” the ministry leader said.
Please consider a gift today so that native missionaries can preach Christ’s overwhelming love and make mature disciples of the nations in the region.
*Names changed for security reasons
