Every morning Ed and I spend time praying through a
segment of the list of the names of Muslims and believers from Muslim background
whom we know. None of them
belong to us. We carry them in our hearts and love them so much but they don’t
belong to us. It took some years to come to the realization that we can not own
any of these dear people. When you love deeply you can sure think someone
belongs to you! There have been times when certain ones have looked to us as
their mother or father. We are investing in friendships, come alongside them in
their baptisms and are discipling a few. Suddenly off they fly; sometimes far
away. Some seem to have even forgotten us or the part we played in their early
years of spiritual growth. We hear other people’s names mentioned now from their
mouths.
This subject of “owning” Muslim friends or believers can be a
painful sensitive reality. One time we met a new Muslim family and within a few
days some other Christians walked into their lives in a way which seemed to
communicate “they are ours.” Perhaps you have gone through something similar.
Occasionally this happens when you have labored hard to get a group of
believers together for teaching and fellowship only to have some other
Christian walk in and “take over.” The
fellowship group is no longer in your hands or even in your life.
We can feel a sense of ownership when someone we have
invested in gets baptized or we have sponsored them to come to the West – kind
of like they owe us their lives. Well, we probably would never voice this
expectation but we can sure feel like it. Let’s be honest. Perhaps we gave them
money, let them stay in our home for a time, coached them through labor, or spent
hours sitting with a cancer patient going through chemo. Churches,
denominations, or mission organizations may give the impression they own a
convert. I wish I had learned the lesson about not owning anyone long ago. It
would have saved me pain and confusion. After a few heartaches in this area I
finally came to see that God puts these individuals in my life usually for a
season and a purpose but not for always. He is teaching me to hold them lightly
and let them go when they move on. They belong to God, not me. Nevertheless I
continue to carry them in my heart, pray for them, and connect whenever possible.
It really is for their good and for their spiritual growth to be exposed to the
wider body of Christ. Each plays a part.
Dear heavenly Father, please help me to know the
difference between responsibility and ownership. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
