Some of you may have been reading about the terrible persecution of
Christians in Mosul (modern-day Nineveh from the book of Jonah).
If you are like me you may think, “that’s sad” but then you go on with
your life with a few occasional pangs of shame for having so much but being
able to do so little. It’s easy to feel helpless about a situation across the
world involving people we’ve never met in a place we haven’t been, but I think
Jesus calls us to more than fleeting feelings of guilt.
If I was a Christian in Mosul and my family was in danger, my
possessions were taken, and my life was threatened unless I abandoned my faith,
how would I want others to respond? I would want my sisters (and brothers) in
Christ to pray for me and encourage me that God is in control even when my
circumstances seem to say otherwise. I would hope for more than a few seconds
of pity.
(My intention isn’t to cause you to feel bad but to confess my response
and call all of us to lift up our brothers and sisters in prayer.)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By
this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.
John 13:34-35
We love the Christians in Mosul because Jesus has loved us. They are our brothers and sisters.We
pray for their persecutors because while we were still His enemies, Christ laid
down his life for us.