Fasting and Iftar

This evening Ryan and his family, along with a few friends, are joining their Somali friend Dr. Salad for an Iftar feast. Iftar is the meal that Muslims enjoy after sunset each day during Ramadan to break their day’s fast. The group is fasting from food and drink all day in order to participate in the fullest possible way with this Muslim family. Each year Ryan has taken part in Ramadan in this way, each time bringing a new set of friends.

During the Iftar meal and afterwards is the time Ryan often gets an invited to talk about spiritual matters. Muslims tend to enjoy discussing their beliefs during this particularly spiritual month. Pray for Ryan, Crystal and their friends as they represent Jesus in Dr. Salad’s home.

Today Ryan reflects on Jesus as the bread of life (John 6:25–59). What a challenging passage this is. It was a time when many rejected Jesus due to his extreme statements about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Yet as we fast, we remember that Jesus is the fulfillment of Manna from Heaven. He is the full provision of God, and sustains us. “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me… Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

May Salad, Shamso, Bana, Ikram, Nastexo, Abdirisak, Mohammed, Sundus, and everyone else in this home feed on Jesus!