Lavish Hospitality

drawn into redemption’s drama

GOD HAS BEEN UP TO SOMETHING breathtaking in the Muslim world. Research by David Garrison, author of A Wind in the House of Islam, reveals that more Muslims have come to faith in Jesus Christ in the last three decades than in all of history. Living in Mississauga, when I dared to knock on my neighbour’s door for the first time, I had the privilege of being drawn into this beautiful unfolding drama. When the door opened, I met incredibly generous Arab Muslim neighbours who, without hesitation, invited my housemates and me inside their home and even shared their lunch with us the very first time we dropped by. I was blown away. Arab hospitality feels so lavish, and knowing that Jesus Himself grew up in a similar culture as my neighbours, their generosity felt akin to God’s own love. Through my neighbours’ hospitality, God planted a desire in me to spend more time with them so that I could love them back. With free evenings, I went and sipped sweet tea with my neighbours, wanting to know their hearts and to share my heart with them too. Between us lay a language barrier and different cultures, but we got to know each other anyway. I came to enjoy our long evenings together, and wished, in the tired mornings after, that these after-hours visits were my nine-to-five work.

by Victoria Mok

Victoria continues to learn how to love her Muslim fiends. She worships at Mississauga Chinese Baptist Church.