Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:4 HCSB)
Prior to this confrontation, Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor of the church. He was, "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord," and he was on a mission to take all Christians back to Jerusalem as prisoners. His persecution was against, "any who belonged to the Way," that is, people claiming that Jesus was the Messiah and that He was resurrected after His crucifixion. (Acts 9:1-2) But the Lord did not ask Saul why he was persecuting Christians. He asked, "Why are you persecuting Me?" When Saul asked who was speaking to him, the reply was, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." (Acts 9:5)
When the church suffers severe persecution, it is not Christians that are the targets; it is the Lord, Jesus Christ. He said, "Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me." Genuine Christianity has an eternal focus, a worldview based on the promises found in scripture that our reward will be great in heaven. Should we seek persecution to secure these blessings? No. That would be foolishness. Persecution will come. Persecution has come. But where?
Western churches and western Christians are not heavily persecuted. In the United States many Christians are inconvenienced but this is not the same as persecution. There are instances of persecution but they are generally isolated. For example, if a young woman explores Christianity and her family is part of a different world religion, she could be punished, including beaten, for leaving the faith of her family. However, if local law enforcement finds out and intervenes the young woman can be removed from the household and the family prosecuted for child abuse or neglect.
Our brothers and sisters abroad suffer far more persecution. For example, in Nigeria Fulani herdsmen attack Christians and specifically target pastors.* In Sri Lanka, a mob, including local government officials, threatened a local church and the pastor stopped the worship service since he feared for the safety of the congregants.** In India, two pastors were arrested and charged with running a conversion racket, illegally converting people from Hinduism to Christianity.***
So, if a local school board raises the rent of a church plant using a public school, consider our brothers and sisters abroad before we call ourselves persecuted. If neighbors complain about our friends' cars when we hold a weekly Bible study at our house, remember the church that was attacked by a mob including local government officials. If your family makes fun of you and calls you a Bible-thumper, think of the unpaid pastors across the globe who sit in jail simply because they led a Bible study.
We do our brothers and sisters a disservice when we compare our perceived persecution against their severe persecution. We do them a greater disservice when we fail to pray for them.
We live in the information age and knowing how to pray and who to pray for is easy. Voice of the Martyrs can keep you informed of real persecution and urgent prayer needs. Why not pray now. First, praise God if you live in a country where perceived persecution is merely an inconvenience. Next, pray for our brothers and sisters across the globe who are targets of genuine, severe persecution. The church you pray for today might be your refuge when Christianity becomes illegal where you live. Also, pray for western churches that they might take this time to grow strong in the faith so we are equipped to engage in the battle that draws closer everyday, and the battle that is being fought even now.
* Fulani herdsmen
** Sri Lanka mob
*** India pastors arrested
