Shifting and Suffering

As we look around our world today, we see that there are areas in which it is really tough to live out the Christian faith; and while we encounter opposition in America today, we also recognize that people can be arrested and perhaps even put to death for their faith in some countries.  1st Peter 4
says:
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

Jesus promised in John 16 that in this world, we would have tribulation, but be of good cheer.  We can be encouraged by those who are facing persecution around the world, who view the opportunity to suffer for Christ as a privilege and seek to give Him glory. And, they continue to exhibit a level of perseverance; not allowing the suffering to dry up their faith, but to release it and to become more fervent in their practice; even meeting in secret so they might express their devotion to honoring the Lord.

+++++

The Bible speaks in 1st Peter 2 about our relationship to governmental authority. We can read:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Perhaps your celebration of our risen Lord yesterday was punctuated by the report of multiple bombings in the nation of Sri Lanka, where the death toll in coordinated bomb attacks on churches and hotels has surpassed 200.  In 2017, in an incident pointed out by Christianity Today, it was on Palm Sunday that was "the occasion for deadly attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt."  The CT story states: "Sadly, Holy Week has been a dangerous time for places where Christian minorities face terrorist violence, and churches typically prepare with heightened security."

David Curry of Open Doors USA is quoted in the article. He says, “These coordinated attacks against churches in Sri Lanka were planned on Easter to strike fear in the hearts of Christians. But this sort of tactic will not prevail this Easter,” adding, “I call on all Christians to unite in their suffering and in their testimony of how Jesus triumphs over death. We stand against this attack fiercely believing that all people should have the right to worship freely.”

The article says that...

...Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader and commissioner with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, tweeted: “Christians now awaken each Easter & ask, ‘WHERE will [we] be killed this year?’ Not, ‘IF.’”

While the attacks in Sri Lanka, which is located in the Indian Ocean, have been labeled as terrorist attacks and over a dozen people have been brought into custody, it was not initially unclear what group may have been responsible.  Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country.

The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka referenced Romans 12 in a statement; it says: “Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying..." According to Christianity Today, the group urged Christians to “remain calm and refrain from being misled by rumours during this time of crisis."

The article also says:

Last October, Sri Lankan evangelicals complained of rising religious freedom violations, with the NCEASL reporting 67 incidents from January to September 2018. Last August, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court confirmed that the right “to propagate” one’s religion is not protected by the Constitution, which gives Buddhism the “foremost place” among all other religions and places it under state protection, reported World Watch Monitor.

Tensions run high between Christians and other faith groups around the world, and Christians face religious persecution all across the globe.  They share in the sufferings of Christ as they themselves suffer for His name.

But, there is good news that is emerging in some nations.  Take, for instance, Sudan.  Another Christianity Today article says that, in the aftermath of the overthrow of "30-year dictator" Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese Christians are mobilizing.  The article states:

On April 10, one day before Bashir’s arrest, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) leading protests put out a call for Christian participation, acknowledging “you have suffered sectarian and psychological restrictions for years … [which have left you] without the right to worship freely.”

Shortly thereafter the SPA declared “Christ is the heart of the revolution,” and cited “blessed are the peacemakers.”

On April 14, Sudanese Christians responded.

Leaders from the Evangelical Presbyterian, Baptist, and Church of Christ denominations in Sudan appeared at a sit-in at military headquarters, offering hymns sung by both Christians and Muslims.

“This is a time to move away from the trenches of religious and ethnic discrimination and head towards an inclusive and unifying Sudanese national identity for all of us,” said Rafaat Masaad, head of the Evangelical Synods in Sudan.

“We must make a covenant that we will not withdraw or accept anything less than a new Sudan ruled by humanity and citizenship.”

Sudan is ranked sixth on Open Doors' World Watch List of leading persecutors of Christians; Algeria, which has recently experienced a military overthrow of its longtime president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is #22.

There, the Algerian Protestant Church, better known as the EPA, representing its French acronym has mobilized in favor of a more democratic nation.  The CT article says:

“Since the beginning of the year, all the churches have begun to pray and fast for the elections,” said an unidentified Algerian Open Doors source, knowing the results are “unpredictable” but aiming for better legal standing.

"We hope that the Lord intervenes in our country.”

But on March 22, with the protests fully engaged, the EPA put out an official statement.

“We Algerian Christians, as equal Algerian citizens, fully share the aspirations and the legitimate demands of the Algerian people in their peaceful fight for a modern and democratic Republic,” it declared, “where the fundamental rights of the citizen will be respected and protected, no matter what their political and religious convictions may be.”

But, the Christianity Today article strikes a cautious tone, because even though you might have strongmen who have been deposed, that doesn't mean that the situation may improve for Christians.  Take, for instance, Egypt, where one strong leader was deposed and the Muslim Brotherhood rose to power before being removed by the military - the replacement wasn't necessarily an upgrade.  But, in Egypt, Coptic Christians seem to have curried favor with al-Sisi government there.  Perhaps the situations in Sudan and Algeria can result in greater religious freedom.  And, even the events in Sri Lanka over the weekend could identify the need for the protection of Christians in that country.

Here are some concepts that can be taken away from these developments.

First of all, we know that God deals in the affairs of nations, and ultimately, governmental authorities, even the hostile ones, can be used for His glory.  Our officials may not do what we want them to do, and we are called to pray for them, but even what seems to be a negative outcome can provide an opportunity for the Spirit to work.

But He may use His people in the process of regime change.  Look at the spiritual dynamics, for instance, of the fall of eastern European nations that lay behind the Iron Curtain decades ago.  Certainly, He used people devoted to Biblical principles to establish this nation and its founding principles. And, in our republic, He uses people, including His people, to take that opportunity to vote in order to select leadership.

Ultimately, in persecution or freedom, our allegiance is ultimately to Almighty God; if we are being persecuted, as Jesus taught, we endure for His glory.  We cannot look to politicians to save us; our hope is in Christ.