“Every religious idea, every idea of God, even flirting with the idea of God, is unutterable vileness….of the most dangerous kind….Millions of sins, filthy deeds, acts of violence and physical contagions…are far less dangerous than the subtle, spiritual idea of God.” Vladimir Lenin, Communist dictator of Russia
I like to read history and some of what I come across blows my mind. I wonder what kind of damage a person has to suffer to persecute and fear people of faith? History is littered with martyrs who gave up the ultimate sacrifice, their very lives. These martyrs are those who refused to deny faith in Jesus. (Please understand I am not speaking of the nut jobs who strap bombs on themselves to take other lives. I am speaking of those who confess Christ as Savior and love others enough to lay down their own lives.)
This begs a question, why are those of faith so quick to lay down their lives and yet we read so little of those who deny faith going to the same extremes. Well it’s always the same story really. Those without faith persecute and harm to point of death what they cannot understand. In their minds they just know that if they hurt someone bad enough they will recant. When they realize that these martyrs give up their flesh to death, how empty it must be for those who have taken that life. I wonder how many sleepless nights were suffered by these persecutors. How much they must toss and turn questioning their own beliefs or should I say lack of belief?
I am blessed to live in a country that allows me to pursue my faith without fear of persecution but I must be diligent not to lose those freedoms. I cringe when I see new laws being introduced that are subtle in their real agenda. Many come in the form of verbiage written to protect the rights of others while actually curbing my own.
As I sit in the comfort of my own home on soil where freedom to read what I want is allowed, I will remember those in restricted nations who suffer to even mention the name Jesus. There are still many persons in authority over other nations that believe as Lenin did. To pretend they don’t exist is to deny our duty to righteousness. We must remember our brothers and sisters always but it is not enough to just remember them. It is time to answer the call to arms and get out our swords of prayer. Let us call forth all the help that is needed and watch them become free.
Eph 6:18 “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-“