Blessed are those who are
persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
-Matthew 5:5-10
You are a single male, an
educator teaching in a local junior college. You show up for classes on Monday
morning to be greeted by a trio of khaki-clad men who ask to talk with you. You
are escorted to a small room where one of the men reads a document accusing you
of being a religious zealot. They show you a photo of yourself, obviously shot
with a telephoto lens. Your mind reels, trying to place the location. The
building in the photo is the apartment where your friend lives, the one who
invited you to attend a small gathering of believers who meet weekly for prayer
and Bible Study.
The three men say you need
to reeducated and effective immediately, you are relieved of your teaching
duties. You have seven days to report to a country farm where you will work and
attend indoctrination classes. There’s no trial, no appeal.
Absurd! That all depends
on where you live. The fact is that this very scene, reminiscent of what took
place in the Cultural Revolution in China, is again taking place.
Donald, my son-in-law and
I have been to China and got to talk to a lot of people including veterans of
previous repressions. “What can believers elsewhere do to be ready should
persecution ever come to us?” Donald asked them. We heard them suggest three
things.
First – tell people to
make sure that they are Born Again. Scores of people know about Christianity
and consider themselves Christians yet have never been Born Again. Second –
tell people to internalize their faith. In other words, get your faith in your
heart. Don’t wear in on your sleeve. Third – tell people to know the Word of
God and be able to stand on it.
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