We had an opportunity to hear from Adib and Sikander on Sunday, both who are Afghan Christians. One of the things that I appreciated about their message was their perspective coming from a background that is so different from ours. Adib and Sikander both became Christian in Afghanistan, and had to flee their homes because of persecution.
In one way, their story is so different from ours. Yet as they shared, I also realized that their story had so many of the same elements as ours. It’s interesting that even across different cultures, there can be common threads in how God works in our lives. God truly is the same God, whether of people who grew up in a Christian family in Toronto or found faith in Afghanistan.
A couple of examples from Sikander and Adib show this well. Sikander shared that for a period of time, he was living in a way that he knew was wrong, but God slowly began to change his ways. How many of us have had that same experience, of God working in our lives to move us away from bad habits and transform us?
Sikander also shared that one of the things that drew him to God was knowing he was a sinner, but discovering that God still loved and cared about him. How many of us have been drawn to God because of the Father’s heart, God’s willingness to embrace us even with our sins and shortcomings?
Sikander shared that one of the things that changed him was realizing that God may have a different plan for his life from the direction he was headed. How many of us have realized at one time or another that God may have a different plan for us than the path we were on?
One of the verses that Adib shared was from Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” As I listened to Sikander and Adib, I realized how different their Christian journeys have been from mine. Yet, there are so many ways that we share in the same salvation that is brought to everyone who believes, regardless of where we are from.
One of the things that touched me is when Adib said something like, I’ve visited this church three times now, and it feels like home. LifeSpring family, what a great blessing it is to be able to not only feel at home at LifeSpring, but to be able to extend that sense of home to others far and wide. I pray that God would continue to use us in this way!