Hope Road

Persecution, Faithfulness, and Grace

Tonight I was humbled when I read about continued religious persecution in India on Persecution Blog. One of the two stories is extra poignant for me.

Seven young women from Gospel for Asia Bible college were “sharing the love of Christ.” Then a government official began to argue with them. He confined them to one room for almost four hours, called in journalists to take pictures of them, and forced them to write a statement saying they were spreading Christianity.

Three elements from the story stood out to me:

1. The young women are students at a Bible college. I am a student at a Christian university. How similar, yet how different, our situations are.
2. These precious sisters were sharing the love of Christ in a hostile region. Where I live, the environment is mostly safe and comfortable. Am I still taking the risk of sharing Jesus?
3. For evangelizing, the women were imprisoned, albeit briefly. They were granted the great honor of suffering for Christ. I wonder how I would respond.

I have to be honest. As I’m writing this entry, I am feeling incredibly frustrated. This week, I’ve gotten very little sleep. And the people who live in the apartment above us have chosen tonight to move furniture / walk around in high heels / see who can stomp the loudest. While I’ve been writing about persecuted Christians on the other side of the world, I’m fighting an angry heart towards people nearby.

I know the timing isn’t accidental. If I want to be faithful in the big things, I need to be faithful in the little things now. Do I ever need grace for a changed heart and a steady obedience.

Tags: anger, Christianity, college, evangelism, faithfulness, forgiveness, Gospel for Asia, grace, imprisonment, India, Persecuted Church, Voice of the Martyrs