“Most of us have our own problems, headaches, heartaches, and complex issues we are dealing with. We have needs, wants, and desires ourselves, so why would God want us to think about somebody else?”
Why did God tell us to “remember the Persecuted”?
1. By helping others, we are actually helping ourselves. Sometimes we think our problems are the worst in the world. “No one knows how hard my life is,”– we resent. “Nobody has done the terrible things that I have done,”– we believe. “No one can understand what pressures I face,”– we fear. Guess what: . . .there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9). By helping another, especially a suffering brother or sister, our own trials and tribulations begin to diminish. In fact, our own problems become small when we see what other believers are facing on the front lines of persecution.
2. By helping another Christian, our faith grows stronger. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10) As a Christian, our first priority is to another believer. It is that simple. In Alcoholics Anonymous, the only way an alcoholic can stay sober is by helping another alcoholic. This principle can be applied in our Christian walk. If we want to draw closer to God, we need to draw closer to His people, especially those who suffer.
3. The closer we are to the Persecuted, the closer we are to the cross. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24. Do you want to be a disciple? There is only one way. The cross represents the worse, most degrading form of torture and execution ever invented by mankind. It is barbaric. By hearing the plight of our brothers and sisters who face torture, imprisonment, and martyrdom around the world, and by responding to their needs if possible, we draw closer to the pain and suffering of the cross. We draw closer to the One who suffered and died for our sins. We become His disciple — not through happiness and prosperity — but only by taking up the cross.
4. God tells us to do things for a reason. Do I need to say more? The many scriptures in the Bible that talk about persecution are not there because the writer didn’t have anything else to write about. These scriptures, admonitions, and commands are there for a reason. Sometimes, we wonder why God tells us to do certain things. Sometimes what He tells us to do just doesn’t seem to make any sense to our tiny, human brains. I like this old Sunday school saying from my childhood: “If God says it; I believe it; that settles it.” Sometimes we just need to let go, and let God. If He says, “Remember the persecuted…” then let’s, remember the persecuted. If says, “…do good to all, but especially to the family of believers,” then let’s do it.
I know this is a brief overview and could be easily expanded. But I hope this helps. May God help us all, especially our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their faith — our faith — right now.