Communion of [Persecuted] Saints

     Throughout the world there are Christians following fervently the laws, statutes, and commandments laid out for the church to adhere to in the Bible. These precious individuals exist in the same light of life as Christians stateside. Belief is universal; it is global in scope and global in purpose. Yet, despite the fact that Christianity is designed inherently to change the entire world so often I tend to find myself thinking only about the believers in my church or in my circle of friends. Is it human nature to hold a belief in something in such a heartfelt, deep-seated way yet miss the point through your own two eyes? Maybe it's just my human nature. 

     

     It is problematic for the local American church to see it's church, or the believers in its state as the believers that have value. No one would ever come out an say that, of course; they would just function that way. I go to church every Sunday and the last thing on my mind as I am sitting relatively comfortably in the side-locking seats listening to a dynamic speakers with a fancy headset mic is the persecuted church meeting together in secret out of fear of improvement or death. Should it be on my mind? Yes. It is. No. . .

     The old saying "out of sigh, out of mind," is used frequently in the Victorian era, during the period in history of the "men's parlor" and the "women's parlor." When the pocket doors separating the whiskey sipping, tobacco spitting men from the harpsichord playing, letter writing women, are closed everyone is "out of sigh out of mind." So often do the walls or our churches, the state lines, or on a larger scale so often the Atlantic and Pacific function as spiritual pocket doors separating the most developed world Christians sitting in the A/C from the dirt floors catacomb believers everywhere else---Out of sight, out of mind.

     The church has had periods of persecution from the beginning. The Roman Emperor Nero was probably the worst of all. He was known to hang Christian's heads on stakes to decorate his gardens. Their deaths are recorded to have taken place in the Roman arenas performed by gladiators, or wild predators. Terrible, gruesome, horrendous deaths. Persecution that took place in the history of the church is seldom far from our minds. It is brought up in sermons, and written about in books. It is heard on pop-christian podcasts and used an evangelistic tools to scare people to heaven. The history of persecution is very real, and frequently spoken about.  But friends, the history of persecution has not ended.

     Christian persecution history is being written daily in many countries around the world. These are our brothers and sisters. These are dear persons loved and adopted by the Father. These are people no different that us here in every way save the fact that they remember moment by slow moment the reality of persecution. Let's ban together as a universal church to pray for and try to help these brothers and sisters. One of the way that we are pressing forward as the Universal Body of Christ is to place a heart language Bible into the hands of each one of these believers. We can do something. We can change the world together.

Jesus saves,
Andrew J. Belcher
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