December 24. Samuel Naaman. Born in Pakistan, Samuel is the son of a Muslim extremist who became a Christian at an early age and raised his children as Christians.
In Pakistan, Samuel said, though Muslims may deny it, Christians are legally second-class citizens. “That’s how we are raised … We live in persecution forever and ever and ever … That’s the way things are. This is the legacy of believers in Pakistan.”
When Samuel was first dedicated to the Lord, he had told his father that Christianity was not the way he would go.
“We were used to missionaries,” Samuel said. “They came. They had their meetings, but—” (You can imagine Samuel shrugging. These things didn’t impact him.)
But in February, 1980, a team of Christian young people—just a little bit older than Samuel—showed up and spent their days in the streets talking to people. And in the evenings the young people preached Jesus with boldness and great joy. “I saw these young ‘dudes’ … fired up for Jesus. I asked myself, ‘How come they have this passion, and I don’t?’”
Samuel went forward, received the saving grace of Jesus, changed majors, and joined Operation Mobilization. Now, more than forty years later, Professor Samuel Naaman teaches at Moody Bible Institute and is President and Co-founder of the South Asian Friendship Center.
In today’s story Samuel is speaking with a former student.
When we give our anger to the Lord, He replaces it with peace.
“It was thirty years ago today, actually.” Samuel’s voice caught.
A minute of silence.
Gathering himself, he continued to speak in his strong Pakistani accent.
“It just took one bullet, and my brother paid the ultimate price for sharing the Gospel.”
Pakistani brothers, Samuel and Joseph, worked together as evangelists, giving out Bibles and preaching the Good News throughout cities and villages in Pakistan.
Often seen as a threat by Muslim religious extremists, this was dangerous work. And one day, it became deadly.
On June 2, 1990, an extremist group shot and killed Joseph.
Devastated, Samuel grieved. He was in pain. And he felt tempted to give into bitterness. But God’s love was more powerful. Samuel trusted the Good News of Jesus, and his trust grew stronger. He made up his mind to continue the work his brother had given his life for.
“The commitment and calling of the Lord never change,” Samuel says.
He went on to minister in countries all around the world, before he settled in Chicago to run a center for South Asian immigrants.
“There were hard times. I have been thrown in jail. I have been depressed, sometimes. But I keep moving. It is not about numbers. I go after one. Can I influence one to find Christ? Let me tell you a story about one …”
Samuel’s story began in The South Asian Friendship Center, located in the heart of the Indian and Middle Eastern section of Chicago. To the many immigrant visitors, the Christian Center offered English classes, books in many different languages, help with paperwork, and free cups of chai or Indian-spiced tea.
Over one of those cups of tea, Samuel met Ram. Recently arrived in Chicago from India, Ram was after the American Dream—or so he said.
Interested in the books for sale, Ram had wandered into the Center. When he realized he was in a Christian-run organization, he became incensed and verbally raged against Christianity.
Samuel’s co-worker, David, was taken aback by Ram’s forcefulness. But Samuel, who shared a similar culture with Ram, gently explained to Ram that Hollywood movies were not reality, and they were certainly not an accurate representation of Christianity.
Nevertheless, Ram continued to argue against the Christian faith. Day after day—for weeks—Ram came to the Center, took his cup of chai tea, and sat to begin his arguments. And Samuel never pushed back. He quietly listened, poured tea, and became a real friend to Ram.
Finally, Samuel told David, “I feel Ram is ready to hear the gospel message.”
David was shocked. There was no way Ram was ready!
But Samuel was confident. “He has emptied himself of all his anger and bitterness. He is ready to be filled with the message of the hope of Jesus.”
It was hard to imagine how Samuel had hope for this oppositional man.
Samuel explained, “I could see that Ram wasn’t just arguing to claim victory. He came so often to talk to us because he really wanted to know. He really wanted answers. His heart was open. And we were filling his need for fellowship.”
Samuel and David asked Ram if he would be interested in finding the answers to his questions in the Bible.
That’s when Ram admitted he had fled India to escape serious problems. He was on the verge of buying a Bible in the bookstore the first day he had come to the Center, but his anger at Christians got in the way. He eagerly accepted the idea of studying the Bible.
A few weeks after hearing the gospel, waving his wallet, Ram burst into the Center.
“I prayed to Jesus! And He heard me! I lost my wallet on the street, and I prayed I would find it, and there it was blocks and blocks away, laying there on the sidewalk. And all my money is still there!”
Ram announced that he would like to be a follower of Jesus. Through genuine friendship, the Word of God, and an answer to a simple prayer, Ram’s anger and bitterness left. In their place, he was filled with the peace he had been searching for.
One violent act of focused anger and a bullet left Samuel missing a beloved brother. But he let God’s love fill that emptiness. Then Samuel took that patient love, gave it to one angry man, and gained another brother.
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).
Have you experienced loss? Has anger filled a hole in your life? Read the Word of God, find a caring friend who listens, and ask God to empty out the anger and fill you with love that overflows into the lives of others.
When we give our anger to the Lord, He replaces it with peace.
Based on an interview with Doctor Samuel Naaman, June 2, 2020.
Story read by Daniel Carpenter