A Gospel Response to Iran
Morgan Malone
As I write this article, our national news is talking about the potential for a peace deal to be signed with Iran. By the time you read this article, we will know if the conflict has stopped or not.
I also read an article by Dr. Jim Denison, who spoke about the country of Iran. He reminded me of the fact that there are 92 million Iranians in our world. It is easy for me to see them as a lot of us do, as our enemies. Certainly, the actions of those in power in Iran have been ones of destruction, fear, and anger. From a religious perspective, the clerics who have been in control have referred to America as the Great Satan and seen Christians in that light as well. They have promoted the destruction of us.
On the other hand, I wrote to you a little over a year ago about a couple I met at the BSM on UNT’s campus. They were from Iran and have come to study at the University. I found them to be very gracious, personable, and curious about Christianity. In fact, they had visited FBC Denton with a friend from the BSM. They talked about their experience. We, in turn, dialogued about what it meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ. They were
not converted, but I still pray for them.
Reflecting upon that encounter and our world today, I am struck by two things. First, our country’s leaders will at times need to confront evil in concrete ways. There will be times that our military will get involved in making our country safer.
Secondly, I am reminded of Jesus’ call to action of loving our neighbor and the question of who is my neighbor? This word “neighbor,” along with the Biblical text, forces me to see not just a country that has been antagonistic toward America but as a country that has individuals in it who need Jesus. It is composed of neighbors whom Jesus wants us to share the gospel with in the future. I am glad that as a Southern Baptist Church member, our convention sends out missionaries to all the world. Some of those places are like Iran. They are closed to the gospel, and those who have been appointed by the IMB work as part of a Non-Governmental Organization providing some kind of help to the community. By doing that, these individuals can stay in the country and share the gospel. Or, they can visit neighboring countries like one single female IMB missionary that I knew who did on several occasions while she was serving.
This brings us back to the Iranians and remembering there are more than ninety-two million of them in our world. They live in Iran, other places, and in Denton, Texas. Each of them needs to hear the gospel.
I am reminded as well that I do not have to go somewhere else to reach my neighbors, who are from some other country like Iran. I can step outside my front door, look to the left or right, drive to the store or workplace, and meet neighbors who at first may appear to me as different. While I may initially think of them as the enemy, I should start thinking about them in the way Jesus did, as someone to love unconditionally. I must see those individuals as my neighbors in need of Jesus Christ’s transforming power.