Incarnational Mission to Hyenas?

A middle-aged African Muslim woman speaks up: "Jesus came as a human to save humans, even though he is God. If God had wanted to save hyenas, he would have become like a hyena. We want to save Muslims and so this compels us to go into the mosque ...". [1]

This middle-aged woman understands incarnational mission perfectly, and has expressed it far better than I ever could. The Word became flesh (Jn 1:14), and 'I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some' (1 Cor 9:22) put into practical action.

God becomes fully human to reach humans. Human ... yet also somehow different, standing out, but not apart.

Today Muslim background believers in Christ are instinctively doing incarnational mission - sharing Jesus in their local context, without going to theological college or picking up a single textbook.

We are called to do the same - to enter in a local culture, right where they are ... yet also somehow different, standing out, but not apart.


[1] Quote from 'A Wind in the House of Islam' by Garrison - an excellent book.