In the four gospel books, depending on what each author wanted to focus on and highlight, they included different parts of Jesus’ earthly ministry. They focused on different aspects such as His divinity, His miracles, or His parables.
When we read an account and discover it is in more than one book, it helps us tremendously to read these side by side and study them to get a full comprehension of the story, miracle, or parable.
One event like this is when one day, Jesus points out the children in the crowd around Him and tells His followers to “humble themselves” like these children to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18 and Mark 10 both share this story. Let’s first read them and then we will unpack what Jesus says. Then we will see how to take Jesus’ teaching and use it when we are sharing the gospel with Muslims.
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-4
“Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” Mark 10:14b-15
Many believers have used these passages to coin a term “childlike faith”, but after reading them, we see that this teaching is much more specific. Jesus is not telling us just about faith, but about the heart posture to have as a Christ-follower: humility like a child.
How can we have childlike humility while we are sharing the gospel with Muslims?
There are three main characteristics of childlike humility that every Christ-follower should have as they share the gospel with their Muslim friends and neighbors:
Encourage questions
Share uninhibited joy
View God in awe
How does childlike humility lead to encouraging others to ask questions?
If you’ve ever been around a child between the ages of 4 and 10, you know that a good portion of your conversation will be them asking, “Why” or “What is that?” or “How does this work?”, and any other version of discovery questions.
Children are humble and recognize they do not know everything, but they do not sit with this lack of knowledge and wait for it to make sense. Instead, they ask questions until their curiosity has been satisfied.
In the same way, when you are sharing the gospel with a Muslim and you do not know something about them or about Islam, humble yourself and ask! You can set the example for them that asking questions is not a weakness, but rather part of the humility God our Father desires.
Many Muslims are not taught to ask questions of their religion; rather many have inherited Islam from their parents and are told asking questions will bring Allah’s displeasure upon them.
You could be the first person to tell a Muslim that God does not punish us for asking questions, but rather He wants us to humble ourselves and seek to grow. This can give your Muslim friend the courage to ask you questions about your faith and begin to search their heart for what they truly believe.
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5
Share the uninhibited joy of a childlike heart with Muslims to honor God
Think back to the time you’ve spent with children; after the onslaught of questions, have you heard their laughter of satisfaction when they finally understand something? Or their joyful giggles when they are hugged by someone they love and trust?
Children have uninhibited joy. They do not hold back their happiness, but rather their young hearts are practically bursting with joy.
We are so blessed to have a loving Heavenly Father who desires us to have joy and peace. But we are not meant to keep this joy to ourselves or hide it away.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
When you are talking to a Muslim about Jesus, do not hide your joy and peace in Christ from them. Children surely do not quiet their laughter or happiness, and neither should we.
Present God with awe when you are sharing the gospel with a Muslim
Viewing God with awe is the final part of childlike humility that you should share with your Muslim friend. If you’ve ever gotten to tell a child about God’s love for them, you have seen the way their eyes light up and their jaw drops.
We should always view our Heavenly Father with this awe and wonder; how wonderful to have a Lord and Savior who sent His Son to die for us!
This kind of relationship with God is completely foreign to Muslims. Instead, they are taught that they are Allah’s slaves and he is their master; they are always trying to earn his favor.
Do not let your heart grow numb to the wonderful gift of grace and love we have received from God! Rather in keeping a humble heart, we should be even more passionate about sharing this gift with others because we never forget how precious it is.
When you share Jesus with a Muslim, you might have the joyful experience of seeing their heart open up to the Truth and their eyes light up, just like children, as they learn about the Heavenly Father who loves them.
Prayer for sharing the gospel with a Muslim
Dear Lord, thank you so much for this free gift of salvation you have given me. Please do not let my heart grow numb to what You have done for me, but rather I want to be humble and overflow with joy and awe. Send me out to share Your Word with Muslims, so they can know this Truth too! Amen.
