World View

Mercy for Refugees in Belgium

Unconditional love can baffle as much as is can heal. Some refugees living at a refugee camp became angry with us because we chose to show love to one of their friends from an Islamic state whom they labeled as a “very bad man” because he had stolen some items in the past. How could we show love and kindness to someone who had done "very bad things" they demanded to know?

In the Islamic worldview, there is no understanding of grace or mercy, whatsoever. There is not even a category for unmerited love – love that is not deserved. Through the course of several weeks, we spoke to many of these men, who are followers of Jesus, and begin to explain grace in this real-life situation. Even for those who were truly seeking to know God's will in the situation, there was great difficulty in understanding that God offers us love and acceptance--even when we do not deserve it at all! For a Muslim, there is no grace, no mercy and no love from Allah. A person simply gets what he earns, so all of life must be lived in fear and striving to be good enough to please Allah and gain his favor.

After much discussion, one of these men, my close friend, began to understand what God's grace is really all about--and by God’s strength began to love this other man, regardless of his past. My friend was then able to explain God's grace to others in this people group, so that many of these people now have a much better understanding of Who God is, and of the grace and mercy that He offers His children! How awesome to see the Holy Spirit teaching these people truths that are entirely foreign to their way of thinking!