“Love is patient and kind” (1 Cor 13:4). I am currently coaching four Iranian parishioners requesting asylum here in Germany, trying to make sure they are prepared to defend their Christian faith (1 Pe 3:15) in court. A few days ago, I met with one of them whom I had not seen for a while. He had grown a thick black beard, which, I must admit, immediately reminded me of Osama Bin Laden. We were joined by Saman, one of our Iranian Luther Academy students, whose greatest wish is to become a Lutheran pastor. After working through the long catalog of questions, I was quite pleased with “Osama’s” responses. We also talked about Christian love, which includes being kind to one another, even in the little things of life. At one point, I noticed the two of them chuckling. Saman shared that about half a year ago he had been having a really bad day. He was angry at everyone because of what he thought was their lack of love. Frustrated, he took a walk, stopping at an Iranian newspaper stand to buy some cigarettes. With a smile, the sales clerk handed him his smokes—along with a free lighter. At that moment, Saman said, his heart burst with joy because he recognized that there is love in the world after all. To his surprise, as it later turned out, not only was the sales clerk a Christian but he had even joined the very church in which we were sitting. In fact, the sales clerk was none other than “Osama.” After our coaching session, Saman put his hand on “Osama’s” shoulder and whispered, “By the way, you might want to lose that beard before your trial. You look like a radical Muslim.” Gulp… “Sorry to get personal, but Sam is right,” I added. “It will probably help your case if you shave it off.” The next morning Saman sent me a picture that “Osama” had sent him the night before—with a beaming and cleanly shaven face as smooth as that of a newborn baby. *** Love is indeed patient and kind. Sometimes we’re the giver, sometimes we’re the recipient; but the Lord will always work through us if we let him. (Illustration: Saman and his lighter).
The Tiews in Germany 