Blessed is he who mourns with the oppressed

It is not uncommon for a Christian to be persecuted. Even the captain of our salvation was murdered by the slaves of darkness. In Bible, we see the righteous facing death for the sake of their holiness from Abel to the first century Christians. By the grace of God, in our era, God has given some countries (or parts of countries) which are relatively free from persecution. When I say free from persecution, what I mean is brutal death and severe physical abuse for the sake of believing in Christ. But not all Christians are free from persecution. 

Even now, Christians are brutally murdered hanged in public, put in concentration camps etc. Recent examples being the abduction of Christian girls in Sudan, capital punishment for a Christian pregnant woman in Nigeria, blasphemy laws of Pakistan and the concentration camps of North Korea. For the Christians in these parts of the world, day to day living in these countries would be a fight between life and death.

Yet, for those who are living in the comfortable parts of the world, including some professing Christians, they not only are ignorant of the suffering of their brethren, but also so indifferent for the same. When I was talking to some of my Christian friends about the recent political changes in my country and my concern for the safety of the Christians, most of them gave a reply saying only ‘those’ Christians in the hostile parts of my nation would be ‘affected’ by them. They not only realise that they are also in the same boat as those brethren but what bothered me the most was their total indifference and the lack of concern for the suffering Christians but also their selfishness and their pride. They would have no problem if the Christians are butchered in those areas provided they are comfortable and promised ‘development’ and good governance.

Let us see the biblical way of how to react when our brethren are suffering for their faith:

1) Christians are parts of the same body of Christ:

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1Co 12:26-27)

We are all saved by one God, the Man Jesus Christ. We are all partaking with Him in the same body. Whether we are in China or in the U.S, if one Christian in a third world suffers for the sake of his faith, a professing Christian will definitely understand the pain and will also mourn. If your tooth is paining, would your hands be indifferent of it or would not bother, thinking my hands are more important than tooth? Then why you Christians don’t want to come out of your comfort zones?

2) Mourn  for those who are suffering:

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Rom 12:15)

We are to mourn and cry unto the Lord for our brethren who are dying for their faith. If you see in Psa 79:1-4, there he cries for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Israelites who have been taken as captives. Likewise we should also cry for the Spiritual Israel, the church who are getting persecuted for the sake of Christ.

3) Prayer:

At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison-- that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. (Col 4:3-4)

Though God knew from the past the things of the future, and His plans can’t be thwarted, it is pleasing for Him to listen to us and hear our pleas in such a way, He uses our prayers as a means towards the execution of His Sovereign plan. So let us pray for our brethren’s safety and also for the sake of their faith in the times of trouble.

So let us not be selfish and self centred, thinking only about us, but rather remember our brethren all over the world suffering for the sake of Christ.

Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mat 25:32-46)

Let us rather be a sheep and help our brethren suffering for Christ.

If you have liked this, you can also read Are you afraid of Persecution?