Interesting day in the life….. I met with a top Saudi general who told me the whole key to the Middle East was Yemen. Since I’ve spent time there we had a lively and interesting talk about the very unique Yemeni situation , the U.S. policies towards that ancient country and what a committed believer in God might do to help.
Then I had lunch with a dear Muslim friend here in Saudi and we discussed the importance of the death and resurrection of Jesus for two hours.
From 7-9 this evening I met with four prominent Saudis who are all in significant positions of leadership in Jeddah and we talked at depth about how Christians and Muslims need to focus on the Great Commandment and loving God and following the way of Jesus. We talked openly about my professional ministry background and discussed some of the finer points of theology that we share and that we disagree on – and why.
And the question….how in the world did I get here? Who would ever think that speaking openly (and in depth) about Christ in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia could be so easy? And since when are we supposed to even SAY that we’re in Saudi Arabia? Many of the circles I’m in don’t allow “their people” to even utter the words “Saudi Arabia.”
“You’ll be killed or at least kicked out if you go there and speak of Christian stuff.” Of course I don’t talk about “Christian stuff” anyway, but even if I did, i can’t see much “kicking out” going on around here. Have we been lied to about Muslims in general and places like Saudi in particular? Is it a style that only I have discovered and no one else knows? Doubtful. I think we’ve been duped.
How’d I get here? I flew. Pretty simple. We all talk about God and Jesus and the Bible and faith – because what else would we talk about? Pretty simple… Maybe it’s all a lot easier than we think.
You can get there too!
