Ali... and Staying Up All Night for the Truth

I sat beside him on a peaceful morning when the day breathed in the gentle breeze of hope. As soon as we exchanged greetings, I noticed the obvious redness in his eyes. It wasn't ordinary tiredness, but the look in the eyes that had stayed awake for a long time. With slight concern and genuine care, I asked him:

"Are you alright?"

He answered with a reassuring smile: "Yes, I'm doing great!" and then fell silent.

But curiosity pushed me to continue: "But... why do your eyes look so tired?"

Then he smiled the smile of a victor who had found a priceless treasure and said with a calm voice radiating joy: "How do you think I could sleep when I have this treasure in my hands?!"

He gestured with his eyes toward the bundle of five 4G3 training books he had acquired the day before. His eyes spoke before his tongue did, burning with passion and thirst for knowledge. He had stayed up the entire night moving between the pages of the books, diving into their depths, searching for truth, and drinking from the spring of life like a deer finding a water source after a long thirst. Hours passed like minutes, and the night was stolen from him without him realizing it, but in the morning, he wasn't exhausted... rather, his heart was ablaze, his mind alert and his spirit ignited.

I stood before this scene smiling while my heart rejoiced: "Oh Lord, isn't this your desire? That everyone be saved and come to the knowledge of truth?"

In that moment, I understood the purpose of my life: to dedicate my life to helping those who seek Jesus, to leading the thirsty to the spring, and to planting the word—the word of truth—in the good soil of yearning hearts.

This was the story of the young Syrian man Ali, twenty-four years old, who had known Christ as his savior just five months before our meeting, but now lives as if he has known Him forever... thirsting for more truth... for more of Christ in his life.

How many other Ali's are waiting for someone to take them by the hand toward the light?

And how many thirsty hearts need someone to show them the way?

Which of us will move? Who will go when the Lord sends them? And who will extend a helping hand and support? Will you be the one?