BEAUTIFUL

There is nothing more refreshing and beautiful than a hard heart turned toward God, toward Jesus. Today is Sunday and I just read a very moving article in the Wall Street Journal about Mosab Hassan Yousef, the author of "Son of Hamas".

Here is a man, the son of a leader in Hamas, who was gripped by the powerful redemptive message of the Gospel, who converted to Christianity, despite great cost.

'I absolutely know that in anybody's eyes I was a traitor," says Mosab Hassan Yousef. "To my family, to my nation, to my God. I crossed all the red lines in my society. I didn't leave one that I didn't cross."

It's an inspiring article to read, and I'm tempted to purchase the book. While I'm not going to quote the entire article here, I'll give you a taste.

The book, a Le Carréesque thriller wrapped in a spiritual coming-of-age story...

"Simply my enemies of yesterday became my friends. And the friends of yesterday became really my enemies."...........

During those quiet years he met a British cabbie in Jerusalem who gave him an English-Arabic copy of the New Testament and invited him to attend a bible study session at their hotel. "I found that I was really drawn to the grace, love and humility that Jesus talked about," he says in "Son of Hamas."...........

Many will say that the God of Christianity and the God of Islam are one and the same - both coming from the same Father Abraham. But Mohab understands that the message in Islam is a lie, promoted first by Mohammad, and that it is a lie that imprisons its people.

"The problem is not in Muslims," he continues. "The problem is with their God. They need to be liberated from their God. He is their biggest enemy. It has been 1,400 years they have been lied to.".....

Do you consider your father a fanatic? "He's not a fanatic," says Mr. Yousef. "He's a very moderate, logical person. What matters is not whether my father is a fanatic or not, he's doing the will of a fanatic God. It doesn't matter if he's a terrorist or a traditional Muslim. At the end of the day a traditional Muslim is doing the will of a fanatic, fundamentalist, terrorist God. I know this is harsh to say. Most governments avoid this subject. They don't want to admit this is an ideological war.

One might wonder how he reconciles there being both a God of Islam and a different unique God of Christianity, when a major tenant of both is that there is only one God. For me that reconciliation comes from my belief in the existence of satan - the great deceiver. In essence, one could argue that the God of Islam is actually Satan.

Mohab also understands the power of Jesus in people's lives to change them.

"I converted to Christianity because I was convinced by Jesus Christ as a character, as a personality. I loved him, his wisdom, his love, his unconditional love. I didn't leave [the Islamic] religion to put myself in another box of religion. At the same time it's a beautiful thing to see my God exist in my life and see the change in my life. I see that when he does exist in other Middle Easterners there will be a change.............

The redemptive power of Jesus is beautiful even in the context of one life, but here we see the redemptive power of Jesus in a way that could save not only one's life, but the fate of the entire world.

As the son of a Muslim cleric, he says he had reached the conclusion that terrorism can't be defeated without a new understanding of Islam. Here he echoes other defectors from Islam such as the former Dutch parliamentarian and writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

How refreshing to see someone shine light on the darkness. How sweet are the feet of him who brings good news......