Who will speak for them?

Last night I attended a meeting at my church on the persecution of the church with a guest speaker from the Voice of the Martyrs. I think all too often we think of Christian martyrs historically - early like during the Roman empire. The sad fact of the matter is that more Christians have been killed for their faith in the 20th century than at any other time. I think we in the West forget this because we have so much freedom that we can't comprehend what it is like to live in a country where that freedom does not exist.

In fact, not only do we have freedom as Christians in the West to worship and evangelize, we are often made out to be the suppressors of freedoms for others. With this, I would disagree. Now, sure, Christians are human and do not always practice love the way that we are taught by Jesus. Like any other human, Christians can become judgmental and petty. There are a few organizations that try to associate themselves with Christianity but they are not practicing Christianity. All one has to do is look at the Bible to see this (people like to cite here references from the Old Testament, and while the Old Testament is important, it is in the New Testament that we see the answer to this - Jesus came to fulfill the law and the old covenant gives way to the new; hence why we no longer sacrifice animals, etc.).

I would like to highlight here the many movements that Christians have been at the forefront to bring peace and equality - abolition of slavery in both the British empire as well as the United States; the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's under MLK; even Gandhi used Jesus and many of his ideas as an inspiration for his non-violent fight for independence of India. If you look at many of the orphanages and hospitals worldwide you will see that many of them have been started by Christian churches or organizations. I could sit here and list all the organizations out there that make a difference in the lives of those that are poor, oppressed, widowed, orphaned, etc., but that would take all day. (Although, I would like to mention a few of my favorites in case anyone wants to see for themselves what all is going on - Samaritan's Purse, International Justice Mission, Saddleback PEACE). I can count numerous friends I have that have given time to help themselves by going to orphanages worldwide, working with the homeless, visiting the sick, bringing relief to those in need after major disasters have affected them. In fact, I see Christianity on the forefront of practicing what Jesus commanded, "Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.' (Matt. 25:45).

Christians worldwide are speaking out for those that are oppressed, downtrodden, in need. My question is, who is speaking out for the Christians worldwide that are being persecuted and oppressed? There are a few organizations that are trying to do this - The Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors. I'm sure there are others, but these are the two that have been brought to my attention in recent years. Here's a link to a map showing the places around the world where Christians are restricted: Map of area persecution is strong

Think about this - what if Mother Theresa had been restricted? How about William Wilberforce? Martin Luther King Jr.? Here's the amazing thing to me - even though there are people who are restricted they are still believing and making a difference in these countries. It's amazing. It brings to mind a woman - near my age - whom I met a few years back that had given all she had to serve the people in Iraq. She was with other missionaries, including her husband, working to help the Iraqis in need after the fall of Saddam. Yes, they were bringing the gospel of Christ but they were also looking into what kinds of physical needs these people had - like food and clean water. All five missionaries were gunned down in a car, four of which were killed. She was riddled with bullets, has scars all over her body, lost a few fingers, lost her husband of just a few years. That's amazing, to be willing to give that much.

I often think, what would I do if I found myself in that situation? Would I stand strong and bold and proclaim the word of Jesus? Or would I bow to the pressure? Would I hide in darkness hoping to not be persecuted for the beliefs I hold so dearly or would I step into the light and trust that my God has a higher plan? He will save and protect me as long as I am to live on this earth? We heard a story last night of a pastor in Colombia who had a gun put to his head. The drug traffickers pulled the trigger several times. The bullet never fired. They finally gave up and released he and his wife (whom they had raped repeatedly in front of him). Later, one of the captors came and wanted to know the God that kept the bullets from being fired. That's AMAZING.

I don't know what I would do. Certainly God would have to give me amazing strength beyond my own to help me stand. I just hope and pray I never have to find out. I admire greatly those that do stand in these countries worldwide where they know they will be persecuted for their faith. The sad thing is that I sit here, in my nice comfortable home, in my nice comfortable country, and forget about them on a daily basis, when they need our prayers the most. When they need us speaking out for them in the "free world" so that pressure is put on these governments that allow and even order the persecution of these people.

So, please take some time today to pray for those worldwide being persecuted. Here is a list of things to pray for given to us last night at the meeting:

Pray they will stand strong, not fear, not seek to retaliate, live in peace with even those that try to persecute them, be able to rejoice in suffering, forgive, love their enemies, persevere, proclaim the Gospel, keep their eyes on Jesus, rely on God's strength, and that they will be protected.