Christian Persecution – Standing With Those Who Can’t

 

One of the most disturbing issues of the day can be found here.  You do not see this covered very often (if at all) in our media in this day and age.  Christian Persecution is not something of the past but it is a tragedy that is happening in our world today in an alarming rate.  If you are a follower of Christ this should bother you for all Christians are connected to One Head of the Church Jesus Christ.

The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews writes; “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).  As we see from the immediate context of this verse those who are in the body are in prison and mistreated.  Today it is the same call to the church universal to identify with followers of Christ around the world that cannot speak or stand up for themselves and we must be on our knees on their behalf and feel their pain and loneliness and missing their families.

However, this should not surprise any follower of Jesus no matter what nation they are from for Jesus told us; “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!”  (Luke 6:22)  Jesus Himself told His apostles and us that because of Him and our identification with Him we would be hated by a majority as He was.  He also told His disciples that they would be thrown into prison and put on trial and some would be killed and apparently that applies to us today as well.  But for a large majority here in the U. S. it is not a reality but something that goes on “over there.”  Those who are from “over there” tell us of the persecution and suffering they received when they lived in their home country.

In today’s internet world we have an ability, privilege and responsibility to speak up for those who cannot.  According to Hebrews 13:3 we are to feel what they feel but if we can actually take action then it is all the better.  A good example is Pastor Saeed Abedini who is currently imprisoned in Iran even though he is an American citizen and had broken no laws.  The American Center for Law and Justice has been lobbying for his release since the time he first was imprisoned.  The ACLJ has done a great job getting the word out of his current condition and whereabouts.  On each communiqué that the ACLJ sends out there is an option to sign a petition that is sent to our State Department and to Iran in attempt to put enough pressure on both governments to obtain his release.  At this writing he is still imprisoned and in need of desperate medical assistance.

In the internet article mentioned in the first paragraph it reports and over 450,000 Syrian Christians have fled their home out of fear.  Where are they going?  What if they would come over to your town?  What would you do?  Most likely they would speak little to no English and our culture would most likely be overwhelming to their senses.  It may not matter how large or small your community is we might want to open our arms to them.

These are some intriguing questions that need to be asked and possibly we can put our walking shoes on and welcome followers of Jesus from other nations that are being pushed out of their home countries just for being Christians.  They will do things differently than we do and possibly not view teachings the same way as we do since their personal experiences may be vastly different from our own.

So if God gives us an opportunity to be the Good Samaritan we ought to “jump on it” and welcome those of other nations as we would Jesus Himself.  But if we’re not in a position to do this we must obey Scripture and stand with those who can’t and plead with God on their behalf.  Feel what they feel through the grace of God and identifying with brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.

Thanks to our Guest Contributor:

Pastor Ray Peters

Harvest Alliance Church