Friday, September 16, 2011

Transformation


This is another book in my latest series of reading about the world of Islam. This is an autobiography of a wealthy and highly placed Pakistani woman whose husband abandoned her in middle age. She retreated to her family mansion to live out her life in tranquility and luxury with her grandson and her fourteen servants.
A series of incidents happen and she begins to question her Muslim faith and begins to explore Christianity when John the Baptist appears to her in a dream and she has to go to a local Christian missionary to find out who this John guy is. 
Leaving the Muslim faith is no light decision in that culture and she began to feel the alienation from her very large extended family and circle of friends, even to the point of finding that her life was in great danger. 
Her journey of faith is very interesting as she struggles to know what God would have her do in her relationships and with her former life. There is great emphasis put on 'being in God's presence' and she develops an amazing sense of how do that in all circumstances.
It has always intrigued me how Muslims are lead to faith through dreams and miracles. They certainly put more stock in these sorts of things than we do, but when I read the book, I get the sense that very many of the 'miracles' that happened in her life, happen to us also, but we do not recognise them or give them credence as messages from God so that they can guide our lives. 
The book is a bit of a wake up call for any Christian who is being casual with their faith and wondering why they do not feel that God is near to them.     

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