There is a price to be paid for locals following Jesus in Muslim countries. Persecution in the Middle East has very rarely been government-sanctioned — it is most often social. Regardless of what ethnic group you belong to, the moment you decide to turn your back on the traditions and beliefs of your ancestors, you have made yourself an enemy. We have told the story of young women who were put under house arrest, middle-aged people whose spouses left them, and people whose parents disinherit them when they confess Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Just yesterday, while I was discussing having a relationship with God to a neighbour, she made a telling statement. “We believe and worship according to what we were born into. You do the same. There is no wrong in that. The only sin is moving from one group to the next.” She is a faithful Muslim and devoted mother.

Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, would have paid a similar price to Muslim background believers. His revelation of Jesus happened while he was on assignment from a group of radical Jewish terrorists. On top of that, the church he was joining looked on him with suspicion at the beginning. Here was a violent fanatic who had suddenly turned his back on his faith and embraced Jesus. Maybe he is lying to spy on us, they must have thought. Maybe he is on assignment right now. Someone like him doesn’t just change his mind and join us. Maybe he feels this way right now, but what happens when he misses the connections he had with friends, family, and other persecutors of the church. What if he goes back?