The Joy of Community

A special thank you to Unsplash and Edgar Castrejon for the free use of this beautiful photo.

I remember sitting in a restaurant during Ramadan one year while in the United Arab Emirates. Moms, Dads, and children in their holiday finery gathered around tables filled with olives at a local restaurant. We all (including me!) waited for the “all clear” to come, that the sun had set and then we broke the day long fast by eating olives. The restaurant instantly went from quiet and reverent to loud and exuberant. The sound of children laughing and adults chatting - joyful holiday sounds - began to fill the air

I felt one with the people around me. I hadn’t even fasted during the day. Indeed, I had snuck into a bathroom stall to drink a cup of coffee while at the local mall! (Starbucks could sell you coffee, but you couldn’t drink it in public.) I had gone behind a barrier to have lunch with all of the other non-Muslims and enjoyed some great food with literally thousands of other non fasters. And, yet, I still felt like I belonged at the moment of breaking fast at the end of the day. I think it was because family, good food, and holiday finery don’t need much translation to be understandable around the world.

To Muslims, the concept of “ummah” or being a part of the global family of Muslims is strong. It is something that Muslims have taught me that has enriched my understanding of following Jesus. I now know that the global family of Jesus followers is my real tribe. I have so much more in common with a believer in Zambia or Saudi Arabia than I do with my secular American neighbor. As I have invited Muslims to follow Jesus with me, I have learned to not invite them into making an “individual, personal decision to follow Jesus Christ” but instead to invite them to “join a global family, full of joy, speaking all languages, and submitted to one true great leader - Jesus the Messiah.”

Let’s invite Muslims to join the global “ummah” (community) of Jesus. Let’s do this by taking a chance on a new relationship. Let’s go out of our way to show the love of Jesus to a Muslim in some way. Let’s build a new community centered around Christ. Perhaps you’ve never had a Muslim friend before. Perhaps you have. Perhaps you have been scared of becoming a friend to a Muslim. Perhaps you have already discovered how rich and enjoyable hospitality from a Muslim family can be. Maybe your only Muslim friends would have to be virtual ones as there are none in your area. Nevertheless, let’s take a chance on a new relationship and make a Muslim friend. 

I know this time period lacks the normal fun get togethers for our normally very sociable Muslim friends, but we know what that is like because we really are all in this together. However, we found a way to sing over Zoom and even put together choirs over Zoom. So, would you put begin to pray and ask Jesus for creative outreach strategies right now? 

Would you sing over Muslim friends (and enemies) with joy in your quiet times? Would you prophetically and prayerfully invite them to join the global family and community of joyful worshipers of Jesus? Do this as a prophetic act and as an invitation. Perhaps by next year, we can celebrate the risen Christ with them together as one truly united global community. 

I’d love to hear from you.

What are your thoughts? What is God doing in your heart as you read this? Who can you intentionally reach out to today and show the kindness of God?

Dr. Pam Arlund is a Member of the All Nations International Leadership Team, providing leadership in the areas of training, research, and security. She began serving in missions more than twenty years ago as a church planter and Bible translator among an unreached people group of Central Asia. She currently lives in Kansas City with her mom, a cat, and a really great house mate. 

Invitation to Join All Nations International — Year of the Neglected monthly global prayer
If you would like to join All Nations International in a time of monthly global prayer held monthly on the last Thursday of each month at 8-9 am US CDT, the following is a link to register. Once registered, you’ll receive an invitation to the online zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/ybgkys8c

Want more joy and encouragement in your journey?
If you enjoyed this blog, you will also find All Nations International’s The Encounter blog series to be a rich blessing and encouragement for your life! Link here to view: https://allnations.international/the-encounter-blog