If you had asked me eight years ago what I thought was to be the hardest thing that faces a person in the Middle East who follows Christ, I would have listed out a whole litany of things. Persecution. Cultural Stigmas. Christian crusaders and their history. Lack of community. Lack of resources. Family pressure. Politics. ISIS. War. Martyrdom. And to be honest, these are real and legitimate difficulties for the modern-day Arabs who find themselves following the Risen King in a region where he is decidedly regarded as a prophet who is not God and did not die on a cross.

However, one thing that has surprised me since learning to love and lead in the Muslim world, is that there is one difficulty that can be the greatest stumbling block of all; following a Jewish Messiah who has plans and purposes that He will see to completion for the apple of His eye, Israel.