This is the side of a mosque in Tennessee that was recently vandalized. It makes me sick that someone actually connects the cross of Jesus Christ with such actions and thoughts.
The sad irony is that when they nailed Jesus to the cross they (and we, by our own sin) were rejecting him and saying, “Go home, we don’t want you.” Jesus Christ, on the other hand, was (and still is) saying, “I am doing this for you so that you can come home with me.”
You can read the story or see it at Talk Islam, where I learned about it.
I’ve heard it said that one of the largest problems addressed in the New Testament is actually the sin of racism (i.e. that salvation is not just for the Jews alone). But if the gospel really is for all the nations (ethne), then like you said, this demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the REAL good news of Isa al Masih (Jesus Christ).
On the other hand, while it is sad for true believers to be misrepresented by this vandalism, it is also humbling in a rather peculiar way. Namely, that in the same way our Muslims friends get a bad reputation because of radical terrorists, we too can experience some of those similar feelings when things like this occur (albeit to a much lesser degree).
As always, thanks for your writing and for your heart for the Lord.
Ryan, thanks for the great point about how a few give a bad reputation to so many.
This is terrible. I am very sad this occured.
Thank you for posting this, Muslims aren’t the enemy…they are the prize.
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