Every year, millions of Muslims worldwide sacrifice a sheep or a cow at a holiday commemorating Abraham’s offering to God. The meat from the sacrifice is then shared with family, neighbors, and friends.
A family of Christ-followers in Turkey decided that they would refuse the meat, if offered it by friends or neighbors, because Jesus was the final sacrifice and they didn’t want to eat meat sacrificed to idols. When they made this decision, they anticipated that one neighbor would bring them meat — and sure enough, she and her husband did. When the believers answered the door, they were worried that this would hurt their relationship. The neighbors did not know English and seemed like they might be people who would easily be offended. Amazingly, God provided a son-in-law with impeccable English who completely understood why the Christians could not accept the meat and was able to explain it clearly to his parents-in-law.
Later, when the neighbor visited with the believing wife, she told her she understood why they could not take the meat, and that it was okay. Then, she showed the Christian her Bibles and told her that she was curious about Christianity. On various occasions since, she has asked what Christians believe about various issues, and/or how they face certain life situations. She has also become very cautious about Muslim issues in order not to offend the Christians. How amazing that God used a refusal of meat to open a spiritual door with this neighbor that was not open previously!
Please pray for this family that God would open their hearts to accept the final sacrifice of Christ!
