Messiah of the Middle East

It’s hard to imagine somewhere in the world with greater conflict than the Middle East, where Islam, Judaism and Christianity all compete and clash with each other as they search for their roots in this distant, dusty land.

It is true that these three ‘Abrahamic faiths’ have a common ancestor, and for that reason, they bear many similarities to each other in their origins.

Yet, when Jesus was born, God showed himself in the clearest way ever, as the Word became flesh and lived among us, showing us the true glory of God.

Jesus showed that whilst sacrifice was essential in repairing our relationship with God, it was ultimately through the sacrifice of himself that we could have our broken status with God restored, and gain the only hope of dealing with the problem of our sin.

Yet, this idea of undeserved grace continues to be a sticking point between these three faiths, for only Christianity has all the heavy lifting done by God, not us, which grants us a confidence that we cannot have if we rely on our performance.

This is one of the many ways in which these three faiths differ, but ultimately we see how the love of Jesus shapes and impacts the everyday life of his believers, as we see the way that men and women are equally loved and valued by Jesus, who sets himself as the model for the love we are to show each other.

This is why we need to pray for the Christians in the Middle East, that they will be able to explain the heart of the love of Jesus, and how his death and resurrection changes everything for everyone who believes in him.

The one who was born in the Middle East is the one who came to change the world.

JODIE McNEILL