But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. (Romans 5:15 ESV)
So-fei-ya was glad to be able to work; it took her mind off her parents’ heated arguments and cold silences. She used to love her Dad so much but now hatred for him filled her heart and mind as she pounded the noodle dough. The oil had run out and he had still not given her any money to buy more. As she worked she made spiteful plans to get him to pay for oil: she would serve her family boiled noodles with no salt or oil tonight. “See if he can stomach that!” she thought to herself. She would have to tell her sister and brother to keep their mouths shut and just eat so as not to give the game away. The only alternative was to borrow some oil from the neighbor, but why should she have to humble herself again when he obviously had money because he was buying two packets of cigarettes a day? She knew her father was still a Muslim and would be able to get to heaven because he had paid the mosque annual fee, but he had brought their family into poverty by not providing for them.
There are several firmly held beliefs in Islam that are barriers to Muslims even wanting a Savior. The Hui believe that they will go to heaven because they are Muslim. They try to observe the 5 pillars of Islam even in their old age in an attempt to reduce the time they will spend in hell having their sins purified away, but they are at least superficially confident that they will be received into heaven eventually. This means that many of them are not even looking for the forgiveness of sins. Their concept of sin is different from biblical revelation; they believe that God made us weak and so we are expected to sin.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for God to reveal to Chinese Muslims that their sins are separating them from God and will keep them from going to heaven if they do not receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
- Pray asking God to open the eyes of Chinese Muslims to see and understand that Jesus is the only way to heaven.