Youcef Nadarkhani has a choice to make.
He can renounce his faith, he can say that Jesus is a prophet among many.
Or, he can hold to the reality that Jesus is Savior of the world.
One answer leads to freedom. The other could bring certain death.
You can read about Nadarkhani’s plight here, though there’s a good chance you will not hear about it in church.
A recent Barna Research poll suggests that a majority of American pastors will not tell you about the persecuted church [READ HERE]. Apparently, bad news is not good for business.
Something dies in us when we turn a deaf ear to our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to understand that the body of Christ was not born in America and that throughout the world our brethren are laying their lives on the line in dangerous places.
Places where loving people can get you killed.
The love of Christ compels these saints to plant themselves in harm’s way to help set captives free.
Sometimes our freedom in Christ carries us into captivity as it has Nadarkhani. Sometimes it simply requires that we pray for a brother we do not know who suffers in a place we’ll never see.
You and I have a choice to make. We can step into the gap or we can walk away. One leads to freedom and the other to certain death.
