He’s the first to admit he’s not an evangelist, but Victor Marx’s compassion and humility have given him the chance to meet with some of the most powerful Muslim leaders on the planet.
It’s ironic, given that he first enlisted in the Marines under President Ronald Reagan because he hated Arabs.
“Once you hold one of their children, you realize God’s love for them,” Marx says. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
But don’t confuse his gentleness for timidity.
ISIS wants him dead. They’ve threatened his life and the life of his family. But his wife refuses to live in fear.
“Because she really believes God has placed us here on this earth,” Marx says. “For this time, this spot in history. And that through the power of the Holy Spirit, the truth of the Word that’s been given to us, she is allowing us to help change the future history of lives for all eternity. And once you get past the thought of dying, you realize you don’t live in fear; you you walk in faith.”
And Marx had to cling to that faith when the Muslim cleric who mentored When Marx met with the imam who trained ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“I said, ‘Sir, do you want to cut my head off?'” Marx recalls, “And my interpreter was like, ‘I don’t think he would appreciate that.’ And I said, ‘I just feel like that’s my opening line.'”
So the interpreter asked.
Listen to the podcast to hear what happened next.