Jesus used stories to share great truths. This is a story about what happened last week.

Amy* is part of a group of Christians who have become friends with Muhammad*, a Muslim proprietor of a local business. Amy and her friends have been deliberately sharing their Christian faith through words and actions with Muhammad. They share this because they truly believe that he will be saved for eternity if he receives Jesus Christ as his savior.

That’s what the Bible commands Christians to do. One of the most famous of Christ’s commands to his followers is found at the end of Mark:

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…”

There are no qualifications. Christians must proclaim the gospel to everyone – even those we don’t agree with. Christians must proclaim the gospel to Muslims.

That is what Amy was doing. She was proclaiming the gospel in word and deed, by showing love to Muhammad. Amy was not quarrelsome, but spoke and acted with gentleness and respect, praying that God would open Muhammad’s eyes and free him from the snares of the Devil. [See: 2 Timothy 2:24-26.]

And one day, Muhammad decided that he would start to explore this Christian faith a little more closely. Muhammad decided to go to a church service on a Sunday morning to hear more about Jesus.

Muhammad went to church.

This is where the story turns sour.

In his culture, you always take a gift with you when you’re welcomed in somewhere. (That’s a great idea, and we should adopt it in our culture.) So Muhammad brought humus and bread as a gift.

Muhammad presented his gift to the Christians at the church coffee counter. One man took notice of Muhammad and his gift, and his response was horrible.

“Aren’t you a Muslim?” The man at the church coffee counter said, venomously,

“Take your shit and get out of here.”

Muhammad came with a gift to the church, seeking Jesus. Someone who is supposed to be an ambassador for Christ turned Muhammad away.

In the Bible, Christ tells the story of the Prodigal Son. It’s found in Luke 15. In that story a father has two sons and one of them goes away and lives an unrighteous life, squandering everything. Then the son returns to beg his father to forgive him. While the son was still on the way, the father saw him coming and ran to embrace him even before the son could apologize! The father welcomed the son back, rejoicing that the son was lost, but is now found.

That’s how eager Christ is to welcome all people to His home.

What happened to Muhammad is like a nightmare alternative ending to the story of the Prodigal Son: The son returns home to beg his father for forgiveness. While the son was still on the way, one of the father’s servants (sent by the father to search for the son) saw the son coming, and ran to the son and spoke before the son could apologize. The servant said, “Take your shit and get out of here. Your father doesn’t want you back.”

Woe to that servant! It would be better for him to have a great millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea! [See: Matthew 18:6] When Amy heard about what the man at the church coffee counter said, she was heartbroken. She told me the story in tears.

The heart of God is broken over this.

My point is not to try to convince that man at the church coffee counter that he was wrong to say those things (it would take a lot more than a blog to do that). My goal is to remind all Christians to be careful how we speak and act. We are Christ’s ambassadors, and must proclaim the gospel everywhere and to everyone, doing it with gentleness and respect.

Amy is still proclaiming the gospel to Muhammad. I pray that God will open his eyes to the truth, despite the damage done by the Christians at the church coffee counter.

*Names have been altered for the privacy of those mentioned.