When I was a relatively new Christian and just out of high school, there was this slightly older and very godly single woman in our fellowship that all of us younger women admired. She was tall, pretty, svelte, and sang beautifully, like a bird. She always had a gentle but radiant smile, even when things were difficult, and it never seemed fake. We were floored by her wisdom and grace years later when her dad married someone only two years older than her. She never married.
I was very sad to learn that both she and her taxi driver were kidnapped and killed in an Islamic country just over a month before my mother died. She had been serving for years as a relief worker and had won the respect and love of all the women in her community. She taught income-producing home occupational skills, embroidery, and English, and respectfully wore the traditional dress of Muslim women, the burqa.
The impact she had on her community was that, in a surprising show of force, hundreds of Muslim women protested her kidnapping and demanded answers. I hope and pray that many of those women received Christ from her testimony.
I never thought I would ever personally know someone who would be targeted for assassination because of their Christian beliefs. Yet she is only one of millions around the world who are persecuted for being a follower of Christ. Estimates range as high as 215 million of those who are actively being persecuted for being a Christian: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/january/top-50-christian-persecution-open-doors-world-watch-list.html
Here in the US, persecution used to be isolated, and relatively mild, but very real incidents: being mocked by family members for going to church… being harassed at school for being a “goody-two-shoes”… not being included in the “in group” if you weren’t cool… not being promoted at work because you were not willing to utilize shortcuts and underhanded schemes to get the job done.
Persecution is much more serious in the rest of the world. Many consider Christianity to officially be the most persecuted faith in the world: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/748061/Christians-world-s-most-persecuted-religious-group-Vatican-Radio-Massimo-Introvigne-Islam
In many places, Bibles and churches are legally banned. What would you do, Christian single, if your bibles, phones, and open church fellowship were taken from you?
One must believe the national religion in many of these places or be put to death. Christian single, would you be strong enough to be executed for your faith and watch others killed before you?
Many of these countries forbid Christian evangelism and imprison or execute those caught sharing the gospel. Would you even be willing to risk a short business trip in such a place?
In those countries, believers’ houses and properties, including equipment, farms, and herds of valuable animals, are stolen or destroyed.
Believers are chased away from village wells so that they cannot get life-giving water for their families.
Believers are relegated to menial physical jobs, if they are allowed to get jobs at all.
Imprisonment for imaginary or real acts without access to due process of law, is common.
Women and children are routinely kidnapped and sold, raped, and/or killed in many of these places. Read about what some Christians in other countries face in these three articles:
https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-korean-defector-describes-life-of-hell-for-christians
http://www.europeandignitywatch.org/christian-persecution-is-happening-in-europe/
As we approach what many think is the end of the history of the human race as we know it (also known as the end times), the atmosphere of tolerance and the practice of pluralism in the US has shifted. Drastically. The persecution now encroaching upon those in the US is mostly due to the rapidly changing political climate. Instead of only being teased or left out, violence has been erupting in many circles.
Whether it’s from another mass shooting or an aggressive riot, the persecution of followers of Christ here in the US is eminent, barring a national revival and/or miracle. Christian single, how long can you stand strong in the face of overwhelming opposition and physical persecution?
The Bible says that all who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution, 2 Timothy 3:12. It’s more than a promise; it’s a reality.
During those younger years, as we admired our friend, I used to wonder if I could ever go through persecution for my faith. I read about martyrs from earlier eras—Jim Elliot from Through Gates of Splendor comes to mind—and wondered.
Decades later, now that I have experienced some severe persecution for following Jesus, I understand.
I understand why they were able to stand, 2 Corinthians 1:21. Who caused them to stand, Jude 24–25. How we must respond when persecution grabs us, 1 Peter 3:14-16 (and I admit, I don’t do a good job at responding well).
We need to pray as we stand up for Christ, 1 Corinthians 16:13. Pray for our detractors, Luke 23:24; for our families and friends, Ephesians 6:18; and for ourselves, Philippians 4:6–7.
We must bless, even love, our persecutors, Luke 6:27–28.
We can cry out with our real and honest feelings about being persecuted; David did (Psalm 143). God may or may not turn it back, but we can tell Him all about it, James 5:13. Know that, even if He doesn’t end the persecution, He is still Lord and God.
When Christians suffer persecution well, the gospel is preached. God is pleased. Other believers are encouraged. Onlookers, sometimes even our persecutors, may get saved by our testimony. Click To TweetThere have been times when He has let His people be destroyed by the enemy, due to the disobedience of the rest of the nation. Remember the laments of Jeremiah, who faithfully obeyed God and watched Him brutally punish his nation?
When Christians suffer persecution well, the gospel is preached. God is pleased. Other believers are encouraged. Onlookers, sometimes even our persecutors, may get saved by our testimony. This has happened many times in our history, and it started before Paul’s conversion in Acts 9.
Christian single… we must watch, pray, and love in the face of fierce persecution, whether on the job or on the street. It doesn’t mean we cannot defend ourselves. It means when faced with harshness, we must have Jesus’ response.
This year, November 4 & 11th have been designated as the 2018 International Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Join in prayer for your Christian brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted. http://idop.org/web/home-3-2/3417-2/
