Your Brother Daniel
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Our Responsibility in View of the Genocide against
our Brethren
Recently, I’ve turned on my fellow evangelicals for their
apparent lack of concern about the growing genocide of Christians in Muslim
countries. Here’s one exchange:
ME: Aren’t you concerned about the
murder of Christians throughout the Muslim and Communist world, or do you
believe in the same politically correct silence as our mainstream media?
EVANGELICALS FOR SOCIAL ACTION: We
mourn the loss of life everywhere, no matter a person’s creed or political
views. Every human is a child of God. God is the creator of all lives and each
one is precious.
ME: But do you speak up on behalf of
the many instances of genocide against Christians – crimes that the mainstream
media refuse to acknowledge or acknowledge only in passing? Who can take your
love seriously, when it is not reflected at home, among your fellow
evangelicals?
While it is true that “Every human is a child of God…God is
the creator of all lives and each one is precious,” don’t we have a special obligation to cry out about the
genocide of our brethren? I think that we do:
For one thing, this special obligation is commanded:
For one thing, this special obligation is commanded:
- Therefore,
as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those
who belong to the family of believers. (Gal. 6:10)
We need to get our priorities straight. God’s world isn’t a
communist world. Nor is the world of leftist Christians where “Every human is
[equally] a child of God,” and therefore we have the same exact responsibility
towards all humans.
Instead, we have a special
responsibility for our own wives,
children and parents. If our love doesn’t begin here, then our love for the
rest of the world is hollow and seen as
hypocritical. It is a mockery of our faith if we love someone else’s
children, wife and parents at the neglect of our own! Instead, it is our
primary familial responsibilities that enables us to empathize with the
familial responsibilities of others.
Our
Lord wants all to be saved, by observing the special love we have for the
brethren, for one thing:
- By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if
you love one another." (John
13:35)
Consequently, if we
truly want to love the world, we will start by loving the brethren. By this the
world will get a glimpse of the only source of transformational love.
Similarly, the best way to love our children is by first loving their father or
mother! Love filters down in this manner!
Therefore, Jesus prayed that His people would be one in
love:
- "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for
those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may
be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in
us so that the world may believe that you have sent me...I in them and you
in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that
you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)
Love is not
necessarily about making communities more economically viable. In the long run,
this can prove counter-productive. It can disrupt communities and make us proud
and arrogant. Therefore, love is primarily about introducing people to Jesus,
the Savior, allowing His love to percolate throughout our lives.
Besides preaching the
Gospel (Mat. 28:18-20), the best way to accomplish this is through love – love
of the brethren. It is in this way that “world know that you sent me and have
loved them.” Therefore, our good deeds must always have this in view!
When we fail to extend
ourselves to our brethren around the world, we fail to fulfill this command,
and the world fails to see our oneness. When we fail to cry out for our
brethren being martyred around the world, we simply communicate, “I am not
concerned,” and we deny the essential unity that Christ wants us to display. We
also deny the truth of the Gospel regarding the unity of believers, leaving our
persecuted brethren to wonder, “Where are my brothers?”
I can do very little,
but I want the persecuted to know that there are those on the other side of the
Atlantic who are praying and crying out on their behalf.
We can also let our outrage be known to our congressmen. If
we don’t, they will merely conclude that the genocide against Christians
doesn’t matter to us. Here is some contact information:
- http://www.house.gov/representatives/
- http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
My dialogue with this evangelical group continued:
EVANGELICALS FOR SOCIAL ACTION: I'd
be happy for you to send me information…
ME: Thanks for asking! Here's one
article that provides an overview:
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3875/christian-suffering-under-jihadi-extremism
Please let me know if you would like
to see more.
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