International religious liberty analyst, advocate and author ELIZABETH KENDAL reflects on what Christmas means for those Christians facing persecution around the world…
This Christmas, Christians in Nigeria will doubtless be hoping for an end to Islamic jihad and terror. Thousands of Christian families will be tearfully hoping for the return of their captive children and with more than a million displaced, a multitude will be hoping for a return to homes, churches and communities. Across Syria and Iraq, hundreds of thousands of remnant Christians displaced by Islamic jihad will be hoping for the same. Mince tarts dusted with icing sugar will be far from their hearts and minds.
In Iran, Pakistan, China and Laos (amongst others) Christian families and local churches will be hoping for the release of loved ones imprisoned for their faith, while praying for their humane treatment. Meanwhile, prisoners like Behnam Irani (pastor, married father of two, imprisoned in Iran), Asia Bibi (Christian wife and mother of five, on death row for alleged blasphemy in Pakistan) and Zhang Kai (Christian attorney in defence of the cross, ‘disappeared’ into a ‘black jail’ for interrogation in China) will cling to life in the hope that they might be reunited with their families and friends yet again.
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PICTURE: Hans Widmer/www.freeimages.com “The days might be dark, but they are still days for hope, faith and endurance. What is more, they are days for Christian love, solidarity and action. For in these dark days before the dawn, persecuted Christians need all the help they can get.” |
In India, Christians will be hoping for a reversal in the trend of Hindu nationalism. In Burma and Papua, the Christian ethnic peoples will be hoping for an end to military violence. Christians in North Korea and Eritrea will be quietly hoping against hope for something really big – a brand new government that respects the lives and human rights of its citizens. But with corruption and wickedness penetrating through to the core across so many institutions and at so many levels, such a thing is seemingly impossible. Our hope comes from the words the angel gave Mary: “For nothing will be impossible for God.” (Luke 1:37 ESV).
In Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, in Bangladesh and the South Asian subcontinent, in Egypt and all North Africa, in Indonesia and all South East Asia, in Uzbekistan and all Central Asia, in Sudan, Somalia and along the Swahili Coast – wherever Muslims dominate – Christians will be hoping for a special visitation of God’s Holy Spirit to open Muslim eyes, awaken Muslim minds, soften Muslim hearts and break through the bulwark of Muslim fear.
For the first time in my lifetime Christians in the largely post-Christian West may well be hoping their worship services and festivities will not be targeted by terrorists. Whether the church hopes for it or not, the thing the Western church most desperately needs is revival, loving the Lord her God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength, ready and able to give a reason for her hope, to love as Christ loves (with grace and sacrifice), to have courage to stand firm and walk by faith as a counter-cultural force for good in a culture that is de-civilising at a rapid rate.
More than 2000 years have passed since the birth of Jesus. So why is the world in such a mess? Did Jesus fail? No, the resurrection proved Jesus’ victory. The transformation of the world has begun and what started as a little movement in Jerusalem and Antioch has spread across the whole world.
The times in which we live are days of phenomenal church growth, principally in the non-Western world, and due primarily to the emergence of indigenous missions. Because of this, the church’s centre of gravity is shifting from the northern hemisphere to the southern, from the West to the East. But this is not the end. Rather, God is doing something new: refining and sanctifying the West through judgement while raising up the East to declare his glory.
What we are witnessing is an immense spiritual battle as Satan fights desperately to resist his inevitable demise. The days might be dark, but they are still days for hope, faith and endurance. What is more, they are days for Christian love, solidarity and action. For in these dark days before the dawn, persecuted Christians need all the help they can get.
This article was first published in the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB).
International religious liberty analyst, advocate and author, Elizabeth Kendal runs Religious Liberty Monitoring (RLM) and is the author of Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today.
