Shortly before His death, Jesus was preparing His disciples for what was to come. In John 15, He reinforced the notion that they were called and chosen by Him to "bear fruit," reminded them to love each other, and then said this:
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
There is conflict all around our world, and we find that groups of Christians face opposition simply because they name the name of Christ. Jesus said, as recorded in Matthew chapter 5:
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Well, that was hopeful - Sunday, it was announced that the warring factions in Armenia and Azerbaijan had reached a cease-fire agreement, in which the United States was involved. It wasn't too long afterward, though, that both parties were accusing one another of violating it, according to the BBC, which reported this was the third such broken cease-fire in the ongoing fighting over an area called Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to the BBC, "Nagorno-Karabakh is recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan but is under ethnic Armenian control," and it reports:
Clashes that began in the region in September quickly escalated into a large-scale conflict, with the shelling of towns and cities and the alleged use of banned cluster munitions.
Several thousand people have died and shelling has killed civilians on both sides. Tens of thousands have fled their homes.
Regarding the latest cease-fire violation, the BBC states, "within minutes of the ceasefire coming into effect, Azerbaijan accused Armenian forces of shelling the town of Terter and nearby villages in 'gross violation' of the agreement," and adds, "Armenia's defence ministry said Azerbaijani artillery had fired on military positions in various parts of the front line after the ceasefire agreement had begun."
Writing for The Stream, Grayson Quay reminds readers of past history in the region: "During World War One, the Turkish Ottoman Empire turned against its Christian minorities. The Muslim nation controlled part of Armenia at the time, and massacred 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923." Quay writes:
In A.D. 301, Armenia became the first nation to accept Christianity as a state religion. (It is said to have been evangelized by the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew.) Armenia almost immediately faced an attack from a hostile pagan Roman emperor, but they successfully defended their land and faith. Armenia remains Christian to this day, but the tiny nation of 3 million is still fighting to survive.
The BBC had called the region of Nagorno-Karabakh a "disputed territory." Quay notes that the area, also known as Artsakh, was once part of Azerbaijan, but had left the former Soviet country in 1968, and the countries fought then, and tension has apparently been in place since. Quay writes, "On September 27th, Azerbaijan attacked Artsakh. Turkey supplies arms to Azerbaijan and is sending Syrian jihadis to fight against Armenia. Hundreds have died on both sides."
Ah, yes, Turkey, the ambitious nation that is attempting to increase its influence in the region. John Stonestreet and Robert Rivera, on the Breakpoint website, state that "Overshadowing all of this is an historical event, the Armenian Genocide when 1.5 million Armenians were murdered by the Turks a century ago. Armenia has no reason to trust Turkey and Azerbaijan." They note Russia may get involved on the side of Armenia, and says:
So we have heavily armed neighbors who hate each other and are backed by regional powers who also hate each other. One expert says there is potential for a Syria-level death toll if this gets out of hand.
Let’s beg God that it won’t.
Quay quotes Sarah Stites, an Armenian-American, who says, “There’s a lot of trauma that runs in the genes of Armenians...and I think because of this they really stick together. They care a lot about having a good time because they’ve seen so many bad times. I think one of the reasons that they tend to live together in extended families and call all their relatives all the time is that they need to form those close bonds, those networks, to stay strong as this small people between two aggressive countries.”
In considering this situation, we are reminded of how the past affects our present. Longstanding conflict between countries, just as longstanding conflict between individuals, can affect our way of life. Here we have a people victimized by a genocide around a century ago, yet they have continued to persevere, but continue to be afflicted. There is a religious hostility element that seems to be driving the conditions, as a Christian people have faced persecution at the hands of Muslim oppressors.
We find this type of condition all too often throughout the world, as followers of Islam in nations throughout the world persecute those, including Christians, who do not adhere to their religion. As we approach the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, we can be reminded of the difficulties that followers of Christ are experiencing.
For the Armenians, for decades, they have apparently learned the importance of sticking together through tough times. I think this is a great lesson for the body of Christ, when we consider how we can hold one another up in prayer and practical assistance when we face adversity. When Christians face hostility, we can cling to and retain our faith in Christ.
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