Empathy at its deepest

Hebrews 13:3

"Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, 

and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

We are called to suffer WITH the persecuted church. To be an onlooker or a bystander is actually completely missing our calling. To send some money out to an organization without a heart of empathy is still missing the point. The dictionary definition of Empathy is the "Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings and motives." Empathy is the ability to actually put yourself in their shoes and feel what they're feeling. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." Be there WITH them, carry their pain, carry their joy. When it comes to the persecuted church, we are supposed to feel empathy at its deepest. The greatest amount of empathy comes from a heart of Christ-like love. Hebrews 13:1 tells us to "keep on loving each other"… without love, true empathy is not possible. 

Yet, often when we hear of those who are suffering, it doesn't even phase us. Or maybe it does - but only while it's popular in the media - eventually it fades and we forget. It takes no root in our hearts or in our souls… but it MUST! If we are lacking in TRUE empathy for the persecuted and the suffering - we are lacking in love {Christ-like Love}. The author of Hebrews tell us that we must be a fellow prisoner to those in chains. Maybe we aren't there with them physically, but we are connected to them spiritually. When they face persecution for the gospel, we carry their cross with them, through prayer, through encouragement, through support, through creating awareness. 

We are lucky in our north-american society to be free of the kinds of persecution that our brothers and sisters in Christ face around the world… for now anyways. We thank God for our freedom to worship, to meet together, to pray openly… have we forgotten though that Jesus tell us "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you; 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:18-20) We ARE persecuted. When a Christian somewhere in the middle-east is imprisoned for proclaiming the gospel, a part of us is imprisoned with them. Sooner or later, we will all feel the kinds of persecution that Christ  himself faced. We do NOT belong to the world, we will not be treated as one of their own. PRAISE GOD that he has called us apart. It is a cross to bear, but it is a gift to bear it. If we don't currently face persecution first-hand, that does not mean we should not feel the heaviness of the global church facing pain and tribulation. "Remember those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering…" This is DEEP empathy and we are called to feel it. 

How sad is it that so many people live their day-to-day lives completely unaware and unaffected by the persecution that is going on around the world. YES, we know that God is in control and that HE is working because HE is good! But does this mean that we don't cry out to God for freedom for those in the deepest waters? We should cry for them, mourn for them, but also thank God for their courage and their strength. Our churches don't mention the persecuted enough - and I think it's time that this changes. 

What can WE do? Pray. Give. Create Awareness. and that isn't an exhausted list. Do what you feel in your heart GOD calls you to do. But we are ALL called to pray - and pray often, because every day more and more of our brothers and sisters fall into persecution, persecution of every kind. 

Here are some quotes from fellow-sufferers for the gospel:

"You can help others in proportion to what you yourself have suffered. The greater the price, the more you can help others ... As you go through the fiery trials, the testing, the affliction, the persecution, the conflict ... life will flow out to others, even the life of Christ." 

--Watchman Nee

"We don't pray to be better Christians, but that we may be the only kind of Christians God means us to be; Christ-like Christians; that is, Christians who will bear willingly the cross for God's glory." 

--a note smuggled from the underground church in Communist Romania

"We are not praying that our borders be opened. We are praying that heaven be opened." 

--The prayer of a church under persecution in Vietnam

" A martyr is, he who has become the instrument of God, who has lost his will in the will of God, not lost it but found it, for he has found freedom in submission to God. The martyr no longer desires anything for himself, not even the glory of martyrdom." 

--T.S. Elliot

"All past persecutors of the Church are now no more, but the Church still lives on. The same fate awaits modern persecutors; they, too, will pass on, but the Church of Jesus Christ will always remain, for God has pledged His Word to protect Her and be with Her forever, until the end of time."

--Don Bosco

China: 2013

There has been an aggressive crackdown on house churches. Believers are forced to call their gatherings 'patriotic' assemblies, or be sent to prison and possible torture. Government persecution of Christians rose 42% in 2012. China feels threatened by any movement that galvanizes a large sector of the population. Thank God for the bold witness of Shouwang Church in Beijing which continues to hold outdoor services as officials continue to deny them access to their building.

Pakistan: 2013 

The country's blasphemy laws are some of the strictest in the world, and the World Council of Churches has called them "a major source of victimization and persecution" of religious minorities (Christians comprise just 1.6% of the population). The mere accusation of blasphemy is enough to spur angry mobs to violence and in March 2013 some 3,000 Muslims stormed Christian churches, torched hundreds of homes and burned hundreds of Bibles in a Christian neighbourhood of Lahore.

Nigeria: 2010

On 7 March 2010 some 500 Christians were murdered in the night by rampaging Muslim gangs near the city of Jos.

Germany: 2013

In August 2013 a task force of 20 police, social workers and special agents raided the home of a Christian family in Darmstadt. The four children (7-14 years) were forcibly removed from devastated parents after a court claimed that the children had "adopted the parents' opinions".

Operation Christmas Child:

A group of secularists who are threatening to take legal actions against public schools who participate in Operation Christmas Child as it is an 'overtly christian program'. The mission state of Samaritans purse is "to follow the example of Christ by helping those in need and proclaiming the hope of the gospel." A handful of public schools across the USA have already agreed to stop supporting Operation Christmas Child so as to not face lawsuits.