I was shopping in Walmart for groceries. I had just put some bananas on the cart. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me.
"Excuse me! How do you know which banana is good?"
I turned around. It was a middle aged lady, and she had Asian (Chinese) features, and she spoke impeccable English.
"Um ... I don't really have a method." I replied, trying to maintain the social distance. "I just don't pick ones that are too ripe."
"You are Muslim, right?"
The sudden change in conversation startled me. She had also pronounced it Mozlem.
Shields up!
"Yes, I am." I replied, suddenly wary. What was she up to?
"Look. Let me show you this." She suddenly whipped out her phone, opened WhatsApp and started to play a video. "You should see this, since you are Muslim."
"Well ..." I replied, slowly backing away just a little bit. "Why don't you just tell me what the video is about?"
I didn't know why I was continuing the conversation, but my interest was piqued. Just a bit. Let's see where this goes.
"Well this video ..." The lady paused to forward the video. "It's about a man. He was also Muslim. He had a terrible disease. For five years he prayed to Allah. But Allah did not save him. One day he saw our lord Jesus Christ in his dream. And then he was cured."
The lady then turned to fix a steely gaze at me.
"Why didn't Allah come to save him?" She asked emphatically.
"Well ..." I replied, thinking fast. "So he prayed to Allah all this time ... for four years."
"Yes, five years." She corrected me impatiently. "And nothing happened."
"And then the man saw Jesus in his dream." I said. "And he was cured?"
"Jesus saved him." The lady declared. "And Jesus can save you too. Allah didn't come for this man, but Jesus did. Why didn't Allah come to save him?"
"Maybe ..." I started to speak slowly for emphasis. "Maybe Allah sent Jesus to save this man."
The lady blinked. Time literally froze for her.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well ... he kept praying to Allah, so Allah sent Jesus to save this man. How do you know Allah did NOT send Jesus to him?"
"No! That's not how it works." She shook her head.
"Think." I urged her. "You believe God sent Jesus to this world to save humanity. So it's not a big deal if this God - whom we call Allah - just sent Jesus (in a dream, mind you) to save this ONE man. So what's the big deal?"
"No ... no ... no." The lady shook her head. "You are not getting it. I will pray for you."
And she walked away.
"Excuse me! How do you know which banana is good?"
I turned around. It was a middle aged lady, and she had Asian (Chinese) features, and she spoke impeccable English.
"Um ... I don't really have a method." I replied, trying to maintain the social distance. "I just don't pick ones that are too ripe."
"You are Muslim, right?"
The sudden change in conversation startled me. She had also pronounced it Mozlem.
Shields up!
"Yes, I am." I replied, suddenly wary. What was she up to?
"Look. Let me show you this." She suddenly whipped out her phone, opened WhatsApp and started to play a video. "You should see this, since you are Muslim."
"Well ..." I replied, slowly backing away just a little bit. "Why don't you just tell me what the video is about?"
I didn't know why I was continuing the conversation, but my interest was piqued. Just a bit. Let's see where this goes.
"Well this video ..." The lady paused to forward the video. "It's about a man. He was also Muslim. He had a terrible disease. For five years he prayed to Allah. But Allah did not save him. One day he saw our lord Jesus Christ in his dream. And then he was cured."
The lady then turned to fix a steely gaze at me.
"Why didn't Allah come to save him?" She asked emphatically.
"Well ..." I replied, thinking fast. "So he prayed to Allah all this time ... for four years."
"Yes, five years." She corrected me impatiently. "And nothing happened."
"And then the man saw Jesus in his dream." I said. "And he was cured?"
"Jesus saved him." The lady declared. "And Jesus can save you too. Allah didn't come for this man, but Jesus did. Why didn't Allah come to save him?"
"Maybe ..." I started to speak slowly for emphasis. "Maybe Allah sent Jesus to save this man."
The lady blinked. Time literally froze for her.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well ... he kept praying to Allah, so Allah sent Jesus to save this man. How do you know Allah did NOT send Jesus to him?"
"No! That's not how it works." She shook her head.
"Think." I urged her. "You believe God sent Jesus to this world to save humanity. So it's not a big deal if this God - whom we call Allah - just sent Jesus (in a dream, mind you) to save this ONE man. So what's the big deal?"
"No ... no ... no." The lady shook her head. "You are not getting it. I will pray for you."
And she walked away.
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