Several years ago, I was working at an Illinois grocery store on a particularly cold and snowy day in February where everyone was asking the baggers to load their groceries in their car. As I waited for customers, I protected myself from the cold by standing inside a small heated alcove. The automatic door to the alcove was broken and I had to push it open by hand.
As I exited, the door slammed shut on my finger. I barely noticed the pain at first, but after a while, the glove I was wearing became soaked in blood. Though it wasn’t broken, my finger often throbbed and made it difficult to write or do usual tasks. As my finger healed over the next few weeks, I compensated for the pain by switching hands.
Recently, the leaders of the International Christian Association (ICA), of which VOM is a member, gathered. Each of these ICA member missions was founded after hearing VOM founder Pastor Richard Wurmbrand speak of his experiences as a believer under communism. ICA members meet annually to encourage one another to continue helping persecuted Christians around the world. I had the privilege to listen to leaders share about the work being done in Nigeria, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Pakistan.
One speaker exhorted us to remember that we are all part of one body, reminding us that when one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. He held out his hand and told a story of smashing his thumb in a car door. With smashed fingers, it is hard to work without thinking about the pain. As the body of Christ, we should feel the pain of one suffering member just as acutely as though it was our own body that is in pain. We help one another when someone is sick or suffering.
This month, in our October newsletter, we wrote about a Christian pregnant woman who was fleeing the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq when she was stopped at a checkpoint. The ISIS soldier demanded the woman’s wedding ring. She tried to remove it, but her pregnancy-swollen finger would not release the ring. Instead, the ISIS member cut off her finger and took the ring.
The pain of my own smashed finger is still fresh, and this woman literally lost her finger. This sister is one of the many who are still suffering because of their Christian faith. Are we remembering their pain and suffering alongside them? When one part of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer.
“Ann Kay” is a writer for VOM. She learned about VOM five years ago when she read Tortured for Christ and began receiving the newsletter. She is passionate about reaching the world for Christ and sharing stories of the persecuted church.
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