Key Scripture: Genesis 25:20, Hosea 12:12, Matthew 4:23-24.

Genesis 25:20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

Hosea 12:12. And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

Matthew 4:23-24 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Relevance

Syria is older than Israel. It has been a neighbour of Israel for thousands of years, as both a friend and an enemy.

We first hear about Syria in the book of Genesis, when we read that it's the region from which Isaac and his son Jacob got their wives. Centuries later, the holy lineage repays Syria through the ministry of Jesus the Saviour and his healings and miracles. 

Today, Syria is a Muslim country with little Christianity.  But Jesus is needed everywhere, and who can stop Him?  

I present three stories of love, hope, and heroism in the heart of Syria. 

One

After Ahmed, an Egyptian Baptist and his Lebanese fiancée were married, God called them to become missionaries to Syria. Off they went, obeying the call. 

They began evangelising in the streets, and after a while, started a small home fellowship. More and more people attended, until the group grew larger and required a church. They couldn't get a permit to start a church because they were Christians. 

They came across a ready-built church with only a handful of people in the congregation, but all Ahmed wanted was to hire the building, which seated 90 people. They made the deal, but Ahmed's church soon swelled to 200, requiring an extension to the current building. 

Ahmed went to the authorities seeking approval for an extension. They said NO!

As God would have it, not long after, on a night when they were all asleep, two rockets slammed into the Church, blowing out two walls. Nobody died, but the next morning, when the Elders saw the damage, they got implements and bashed out the two remaining walls, making it look like the rockets took out the lot.

The new damage put the authorities in a corner. They had to give them a permit to rebuild, so they did.

They rebuilt to fit a congregation of 600 seats; however, it wasn't long before the congregation grew to more than 1000. In an oppressed society, the Lord and his people are hard at work and being blessed. 

Two

One Syrian parishioner, George, and his wife had been praying for 15 years to have a child. In Syria, if you’re a male and can’t have children, you are called useless. To everybody, even some of his Christian mates, George was precisely that—useless—less than a man!

One Sunday, a terrorist walked into the church George attended and started shooting, killing 25 parishioners and injuring 55.

When George saw him shooting, and without a thought for himself, he ran directly at the terrorist, tackling him off his feet. However, the terrorist was wired with explosives. As George wrestled with him, the terrorist was able to grab the cord and pull it, blowing up himself and George.

George had covered the terrorist so well that the explosives did not kill anyone else. In that short window of a few dramatic seconds, George went from useless to local hero.

It's sad that superstitious views still exist to put people like George in a demoralising light for years, but the truth is you cannot tell a book by its cover. We never know who the heroes around us are, do we? 

Three

Around Christmas, some Christian Syrian youth would dress up like Father Christmas and give out clever "gifts" to the kids—candy along with small Bibles. A problem arose because they were giving the "gifts" to muslims as well as Christians. The Police pulled them up and said, “You're not allowed”.  The church minister was then taken to the secret police to be interrogated by the sergeant for giving Bibles to muslims.

The minister replied, "Put yourself in my position. If I gave gifts selectively, to the Christians only and not the Muslims, would that be fair?". The sergeant said, “I see your point”.

Over the past ten years, they have given out over a million Bibles. 

Prayer

Dear Lord, uplifting stories come from every continent and nation. We thank you for the ingenuity and fortitude of your people. Praise you for what your Holy Spirit instils in believers. 

Photo by Aaron Burden