Cole Richards, President of The Voice of the Martyrs<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>. In this insightful passage, he offers insight on being united with our persecuted family members.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen I tell people about persecuted Christians, I often receive a problematic but understandable response: \u201cThe world is a big place! I care about poverty, war, natural disaster, human trafficking, lack of education, persecution and many other troubling issues. But I can engage with only a few of these many problems and needs!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I heartily agree that we are not meant to be continually immersed in the world\u2019s problems. However, there is a critical distinction to be made. Persecuted Christians are not a problem to be solved or a need to be met. They are our family, and together with us they are the body and bride of Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe truth we encounter in God\u2019s Word\u00a0is the highest, most important truth.\u00a0 For example, the reality of a believer\u2019s death in this world is eclipsed by the greater truth of that believer\u2019s eternal life in the presence of the Lord. Similarly, while it is true, as I write this, that I am far from my Christian brothers and sisters in the jungles of Colombia in many ways \u2014 distance, language, culture, etc. \u2014 there is a greater truth about our relationship: We are eternally united in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One way Scripture describes this unity is in terms of a family. Each of us is God\u2019s child (1 John 3:1), which makes us brothers and sisters. Within God\u2019s great family, we are meant to \u201cweep with those who weep\u201d and \u201crejoice with those who rejoice\u201d (Rom. 12:15). When a Christian anywhere in the world suffers, we share in his or her sorrow because that familial relationship is greater and more enduring than relationships we may have with earthly family members who are not believers. We not only sorrow with our Christian family members but also rejoice with them as they experience victories advancing God\u2019s eternal kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture also describes us as one body. Our Lord gave His body for us \u2014 \u201cThis\u00a0 is my body, which is for you\u201d (1 Cor. 11:24). We receive His broken body and become for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by His blood. All members are meant to \u201chave the same care for one another,\u201d and \u201cif one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together\u201d (1 Cor. 12:25\u201326).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A third way Scripture describes our unity is through the church: All of us who trust in Christ are collectively referred to as His bride (Rev. 19:7\u20138). None of us alone is His bride; it is all of us together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we will commit ourselves to understanding and praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters, it will result in a wellspring of God\u2019s love in our hearts toward them. We will be continually encouraged by these eternally significant relationships and inspired by the stories of our persecuted Christian family members as we serve alongside them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Insights From Cole Richards, VOM President, On Responding to Issues The following reflection is written by\u00a0Cole Richards, President of The Voice of the Martyrs. In this insightful passage, he offers insight on being united with our persecuted family members. When I tell people about persecuted Christians, I often receive a problematic but understandable response: \u201cThe world is a big place! I care about poverty, war, natural disaster, human trafficking, lack of education, persecution and many other troubling issues. But I can engage with only a few of these many problems and needs!\u201d I heartily agree that we are not meant to be continually immersed in the world\u2019s problems. However, there is a critical distinction to be made. Persecuted Christians are not a problem to be solved or a need to be met. They are our family, and together with us they are the body and bride of Christ. The truth we encounter in God\u2019s Word\u00a0is the highest, most important truth.\u00a0 For example, the reality of a believer\u2019s death in this world is eclipsed by the greater truth of that believer\u2019s eternal life in the presence of the Lord. Similarly, while it is true, as I write this, that I am<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-4996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-stories","tag-presidents-letter","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\n
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