What Love is This?
by Naphtali, Media Team Leader + Kaadiha, Jesus-FollowerMy name is Kaadiha*.
I used to live in North Africa. Then my parents became Christian. We fled to a Spanish territory for our safety. We lived at a refugee center.
I didn’t want to know anything about God.
While I was at that refugee center, American missionaries brought me a book that shared about Jesus in Arabic. When they gave me this book, I didn’t want it. But because it was a gift, I felt I had to take it. I accepted the book, and I went into my room and put it in the closet.
Every night I would take it out in secret and read it.
I was very curious about this book. I would hold the light of my phone up to the book and read.
When I got to the part about Jesus when he was on the cross, I started to cry. Me alone, I started to cry.
I felt this feeling that was hard to describe because I was young. “Who would do this for me?” I wondered.
I finished reading through all of the book, and I spent all day and all night thinking about it. Then we went to a Spanish woman’s house who would explain things to us.
Before, I didn’t like going to this woman’s house because she always wanted to talk about God. But now I wanted to learn.
Shortly after, I said yes to God. Then I got baptized together with my mom and my dad.
I was 14.
Before I was a Christian, I lied and would skip school. I would go to the beach with my friends.
After I became a Christian, I stopped lying. I got close to my mom. My parents noticed the changes God made in my life.
What I love about God is that He is love.
Before, when I was a Muslim, I feared God and what he might do. When I heard that Jesus had love for his enemy, I was impacted.
The part that impacted me is when Judas betrayed Jesus. Then Peter cut off the man’s ear. Jesus knew what was going to happen but still healed the man. I thought: “What love is this?”
“While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’
When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, ‘Lord, should we strike with our swords?’ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
But Jesus answered, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.”
Luke 22:47-51 NIV
Kaadiha and her family found their way to one of the refugee resettlement centers in Spain that was started by our workers. There they found community and acceptance along with eventual employment.
*name changed for security purposes