My Friend Ali

This past weekend, I got to housesit for my friend Sarah. She vaguely mentioned that she needed someone to welcome some guests when they arrived at the house - little did I know the she and her family run an international homestay and have students from all around the world stay with them for an extended period of time. I was super pumped because this was a major throwback to my Youth Hostel Ministry days (when I backpacked Europe in college and worked at a youth hostel in Amsterdam). The weekend was great. I got to her house on Saturday evening and as I was parking my car, noticed a guy smoking in front of the house. Sarah mentioned that there were currently two guys from Saudi Arabia and Colombia, Ali and Sergio. Two additional girls would be arriving from Italy the next day and my job was to welcome them and give them a tour of the house. Anyways,  I parked my car and introduced myself to Ali, the guy who was outside taking his smoke break. The conversation was easy, and we ended up walking to Target to get some food that we were going to grill the next day. I casually asked if he wanted to go to church with me, and he replied that he would go with me if he woke up in time. He also casually noted that he usually slept pretty late - around 5 or 6 am.

The next morning, I texted him from Sarah's room asking if he was awake. My phone lit up with his response - he was awake. We ended up going to church and later that afternoon I had the most transparent and open conversation with Ali. Let me rewind - Ali is a Muslim who at one point in his life looked into other religions. I think we all want our faith to reflect an individual choice and not just something that blends into the background of our culture and family tradition. At least that's what both he and I agreed upon. We were both born into our respective religions, but at one point, we each decided to make our faith something we actively chose to pursue and adhere to. After some soul-searching, Ali decided that Islam was a religion that he wanted to dedicate his life to. And for me, that religion was Christianity and that relationship was Christ. Our conversation continued to unfold, and Ali stated, "Grace, I think my religion is not so different from yours. There are some similarities." I found myself agreeing. And yet, as our conversation continued and the differences became apparent, I found my heart growing heavy. "Ali, tell my about your relationship with God. What if both devotion and being a good person aren't enough? Both you and I are broken people and we are sinful. What makes you right before God?" He replied that being a devout Muslim and being a good person had the potential of moving God to act in mercy and allow a person into heaven. But what if it's not enough? How do you know for certain that how you live is going to move God's heart and cause him to be merciful towards you? Ali responded by saying that there was no way of knowing.

I talked about my right standing before God made possible because of Christ dying for my sins. I pursue Christ because of what he has done for me; I pursue Him because despite my sin, I find complete acceptance before God through Christ. Our conversation ended on a mutual tone of respect and appreciation of one another. I appreciate that Ali stepped out of his comfort zone to come to church with me. I appreciate my conversation with him and I appreciate that he was willing to share and listen.

I am intrigued by Ali and want to continue to invest in my friendship with him. I believe that friendships are gifts from God and I don't think it's a coincidence that I met Ali. As he mentioned during our conversation with a smile on his face, "nothing is by chance. I'm sitting here before you because God ordained it."