Dear Muslim friends,
I have been blessed to travel to Palestine several times. I loved the holy sites. I loved the food. But most of all. . .I loved the people.
I remember seeing around Palestine a symbol of both tragedy and hope – the key.
The key: the symbol of tragedy for displaced Palestinans who lost their homes in the Nakba (Arabic for “disaster” or “catastrophe“) of 1948. More than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Palestine war.
The key: the symbol of hope that one day these dear people might be able to have “the right of return” to their homeland and to use those keys to once again enter their homes and live there in peace. It is the right to the property they themselves or their ancestors left behind or were forced to leave in what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories.
I grieve for these people in their deep and unjust losses. And. . .I pray for them.
Look at the sadness etched into their old, wrinkled faces – these people who lost it all – as they still hold the keys to their homes.
The Injil says there is another One who holds keys. His name is Isa – Jesus. The Injil says He is:
“the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David (Dawood), who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” (Revelation 3:7)
I believe Isa – Jesus – grieves for the Palestinian people! I believe He prays for them. Tragically, most Palestinians will never regain their homes. But I believe that Jesus is even now taking His keys and opening doors, doors that no one – no one – can shut. (you can read more about this below)
Postscript: my dear Muslim friends, I must tell you about one more mention of Isa – Jesus – holding keys in the Injil. He says:
“Don’t fear: I am First, I am Last, I’m alive. I died, but I came to life. . . See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death’s doors, they open and lock Hell’s gates.” (Revelation 1:17-18)
Amazing! Jesus claims to hold the very keys that determine whether you and I will be in Hellfire or Paradise. Only He can open the doors to Paradise for you and no one – no one – can shut those doors!
Do you long to be in Paradise? To have your eternal home there?
There is an even greater tragedy than the Nakba (as tragic and terrible as that was) – the tragedy of spending time in hellfire when Jesus has the keys to allow you into Paradise.
Please my friends, please ask Jesus to use His keys to Paradise for you! Ask Him to forgive you of all your sins. He died for them and He has the keys. For you. For me. For all who will put their faith in Him and His sacrifice.
As always, I love you, my Muslim friends.
I really do.
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