The following is a testimony of someone who understands what it means to count the cost of following Christ. He is an inspiration in my life, and a servant to the Church. His identity has been hidden for his protection and the protection of those around him.
I was born in Iran. When I became a teenager, the big question in my life was “when I die, where will I go?” I started to read all the spiritual things in the Koran about life after death, but it didn’t give me any good answers. Are we made only to die? When I was a teenager, I went to the cemetery to see the dead people. It was not a psychological problem, I just wanted to know where I was going. My father died during the war in Iran, and at that time I started studying and reading as much as I could. I thought God was weighing me on a scale. I was thinking “okay, there’s going to be a huge punishment. There’s a very angry God, and he is so far away, that I could never reach him.” I started going to the Mosque, but I just became more confused, it had no meaning.
During 1994, someone gave me a gospel in Cyprus. I met a bunch of Iranians in 1994 who were believers. I was a Muslim, and I used to drive 40 – 50 KM to argue with them and tell them how wrong they are. We would tell each other how wrong we are. The only good thing I remember about them was that they were always giving pure love – very natural. They gave me the Bible, and told me “you study this and decide for yourself.” I decided to study it, because I always had a book to read. One night I decided to read what it says. I started with the gospel of Matthew. When I started to read from the gospel for the first time ever, my tears started falling down. I thought “if He’s a prophet, He’s the best prophet in the world. If He’s a teacher, He’s the best teacher in the world. I thought, if He’s wasn’t that good, why did they want to crucify Him. He taught to love your enemy.”
In 1998 I went home to Iran. I had kept the gospel and started sharing it with my Muslim friends, while I was still a Muslim. I told them how different it was. Years later, I went for a holiday in Istanbul, during the Christmas of 1999. A new testament was in my luggage. On the way home, they caught me on the border while I was on a bus. They got the New Testament and asked “why do you have this?” They wrote 4-5 pages about me and took everything from me. They put me in prison with the refugees they caught on the border. The prison was 7 feet by four feet… a tiny room. There were 3-4 people in this prison. No heat, no light, no shower, no food (it was during Ramadan). They moved us with other people who were refugees. They were from Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places. I was the only Iranian among 56 people in this room. There wasn’t even room to sit on the floor. After a few days, early in the morning an officer came in. I shouted “sir, I haven’t done anything. I should go, they caught me for no reason.” He pointed at me “oh, you’re the one with the gospel” I said “it is not illegal, it is just a book.” He took me and we went inside a new building. There was a room with four doors. My eyes were blindfolded, and I kept trying to see. Maybe they were watching me, I don’t know. After they investigated me, they sent me to court. The judge asked me “if you become a Christian, do you know the penalty?” I said “yes sir, death.” I signed a paper saying I would never read a book like the Bible again.
After this I went to Turkey in 2001. A man on the street in Istanbul gave me an invitation to a Christmas party at the church. When the guy gave me the invitation and said “you are invited to the Christmas party” I said to myself “I am sure this man is not doing this for the money. If he was, he would do this in different ways.” So I went to the party, and they prayed, and that was the first time I started seeking for the Truth. I went to the classes and prayer meetings for the seekers. One day I gave my heart and believed in Jesus as my LORD and savior. Then I was baptized in Istanbul. I remember when I was baptized, I could see a stranger come in the building and take a photo and walk away. I knew he must be an Iranian working for the government. I thought “now they know that I am a Christian. I will not commit this suicide.” So, I came to Greece illegally as a Christian. I was going to go to England, but I couldn’t make it. So I came here to Greece.
Now, I am working among the Muslims. I work among them and praise the LORD that God is great. As Jesus said “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” I will do what I can for the harvest. I witness among the Muslims. I have the privilege to serve the LORD and be his servant. I pray “God give me enough strength to be a faithful servant.” We are the ones that broke the promise. I just pray “LORD give me the strength to be a faithful servant to the LORD Jesus. The darkness of debt is gone. That huge darkness that was in my heart is gone, and it is replaced with light since I am a believer. I don’t believe in any darkness anymore. I believe God had a purpose to create us in His image to worship and to praise him. I am glad God gave that mercy to me His child and His believer. I am thankful that God gave us that for His glory.
When Jesus said “if you want to be my follower, you must carry your cross every day.” That is true. To be a Christian is easy, to be a follower of Jesus is difficult. To be His follower and reflect His light is difficult. When Iranians become a Christian, we lose our citizenship. First we lose our families, then our friends. We lose our job. There are always troubles. I have seen many families, I meet more every day. They say “sometimes we can’t even meet, because of the punishment” For most of us there are dangers and difficulties. We believe truly in our LORD. We believe and we accept. We don’t become a Christian because our father is a Christian, or because our friend is a Christian. I became a Christian, because I saw the light. I saw the forgiveness. Jesus could have had revenge, but He didn’t. When you believe in something that is the kindest, most powerful, highest love, highest teaching, it cannot be from man, it is from God.
If you believe in Jesus, you have to understand, it is something you have in your heart. The price has been paid already to be clean and be faithful. It doesn’t mean you should put your knowledge above God’s teaching, it means you should obey. Be holy. I think it is important that we are holy in our life. We cannot be perfect, but every day we must pray that He will change us and keep us from temptation. We must walk away from the sin. We must be holy.
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