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Film Jesus

Film Jesus

I want to share a story with you about a young man with a family who risked everything to turn to Christ. 

It all started when Bwambale Abraham, the son of a Muslim imam in Uganda, and some of his friends decided to attend a Christian outreach event showing the Jesus Film in September of 2019.  

His story is especially meaningful to me because I worked with the Jesus Film (in Africa), creating new language versions of the film. 

Bwambale had no idea that the film would change his life forever.  

“We were watching from a distance to avoid being spotted by fellow Muslim friends. After the emotional movie, the pastor explained its meaning and why we needed Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. That is when I began thinking a lot about Christ and His love for humanity,” he recalled.

Despite his Islamic upbringing, the Gospel captured his heart almost immediately. He couldn’t shake off the feeling of love and hope that he saw in Jesus.

But, like so many converts before him, Bwambale found that his family didn’t exactly support his new interest in Christianity. When he asked his father about the film out of curiosity, he threatened to hit him if he attended the crusade. 

But the message of Jesus had struck a chord with Bwambale and he couldn’t stop thinking about Him. Despite his father’s harsh words and hatred for Christ, he decided to take a risk. He met with Joseph, who works with Muslim-background believers. Joseph walked him through the Gospel.

“I got converted and after my conversion, I was courageous enough to face my father and break the news of my new faith. I told him that I was now a changed man and Christ was my personal savior,” shared Bwambale.

His father was furious. He threw Bwambale, his wife, and his children out of the family home immediately. They packed their bags and moved out, finding refuge at a friend’s house, where they have been living in a small room ever since.

While the loss of the support from his extended family was a devastating blow, Bwambale has not lost his faith or passion to follow Christ, and he has never stopped praying for his father to come to Christ. He shared with us these words: “My prayer is that I shall continue to love Christ and be an example to the many Muslims around me. I also believe that there is nothing impossible with God and my father is not beyond salvation.”

Bwambale took a risk that will impact him for years to come. He gave up everything for Christ, including job stability and the comfort of his own family. How often do we cling to these very things, as if they will satisfy us for eternity, when the real source of satisfaction (Christ) is already present in our lives? 

Bwambale has lived out the words of Paul in Philippians 3:8, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

Take a moment today and ask the Lord to use Bwambale beyond what he could ever imagine to reach his family, friends, and neighbors in Islam

 

International Christian Concern

Photo: film Jesus