Voice of the Martyrs

On Saturday, I went to a Voice of the Martyrs’ Conference here in Midland. I wish you could have been there with me to hear the stories of our brothers and sisters from across the world who have suffered persecution, torture, imprisonment and abandonment for the sake of Jesus Christ. I was deeply moved and reminded of what it means to be a Christian. According to Scripture, to be a follower of Jesus means sure mistreatment, hate and persecution. (Phil. 1:29, John 15:18) The speakers at this conference surely understood this.

Getanah Getanah was a pastor in Ethiopia years ago. He spoke about losing his family, starting an underground church, being tortured for claiming Jesus as Savior, baptizing at 2 a.m. to avoid angry mobs, and running through jungles to escape with his life. Getanah still works with VOM to free prisoners and provide support to the persecuted church in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Jabuti, and Somalia.

Bob Fu was an aspiring young mind in China who just wanted to be Prime Minister, before God opened His heart through a smuggled Bible. Bob was the one of the leaders of the students that were massacred at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Bob was captured, imprisoned and tortured for years before his eventual release. Bob has since founded ChinaAid and works to expose human rights violations in Communist China.

Sarah Liu became a believer when God opened her heart at a meeting of the underground Church in China. She became an editor of an underground Christian newspaper, but was imprisoned and tortured for 6 years before God rescued her. She wants to go back and be an evangelist to her people.

Gracia Burnham, an American missionary to the Phillipines, was captured and held hostage along with her husband Martin by a militant Islamic group in 2001. They were forced to hike through the jungle day and night, starve, and fend off attacks from the military for some 370 days. Martin was killed in the last firefight, but Gracia was saved. Gracia wants to go back and prays daily that her captors would come to know Jesus in the prison in which they are.

The stories were very moving and challenging, but it all seems so far away. The Christians they spoke of sound so different than most of the ‘Christians’ I know. The stories of torture, abuse, and abandonment are so far outside of my little world. If I was not careful, they became just cool stories and not real people suffering even now for the sake of Jesus.

Where is that in the American church? Have I ever been hated because of my stand on the exclusivity of Jesus? What would it take for this to be the case in America? Why is this not present here? What can I do to help?

Tertullian, an early Christian writer from Carthage, once said, ‘The blood of the martyr’s is the seed of the church.’ In areas of the world with the highest persecution, the church is growing at an astounding pace. However, here in America we are experiencing a stagnant church, focused on itself not on repentance.

My college pastor spoke about this last week and it has resonated with me after this conference. He was preaching on Daniel and his unwavering commitment to God even in the face of certain death.

“Daniel did what he had always done. He did not change once the law was passed. What you are doing now is what you will be doing when persecution comes.

Are we different from the culture at all? Are we distinct? Have we been set apart; that is, have we been made holy? That is the reason there is no persecution in the American Church; there is no distinction.”

I think that statement provides some insight into the state of the American Church and myself. Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to make me holy–to set me apart from the culture? Or am I too scared of people saying no, not liking me, or at worst spreading lies about me. At least I have the protection of the government here and some sense of justice. I am tired of holding myself back and limiting what God can do through me. He is the King of kings, LORD of lords, and He is the same God of me as those being persecuted. I refuse to be held back any longer. To be persecuted is to be identified with Christ, and that is what we are after, right?

The one sentiment and request echoed from all five speakers was the call to prayer. That is one thing that we can be doing, as well as giving to support the persecuted church around the world. They recalled many times where the prayers of the saints gave them strength to persevere through their trials. This was something that I was challenged with and am repenting of my ignorance and laziness. They asked that we pray for perseverance and for the persecuted to be found faithful even unto death, but not that the persecution would stop.

‘Blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’ –Matthew 5:10-12