The Unnatural Reaction
Two women from VOM recently traveled to Pakistan and India to visit persecuted Christians. They recently updated the rest of the staff on the progress of these believers.
Mumtaz Bibi suffered a broken leg because she refused to stop going to prayer groups. Mumtaz said she and her husband, Rafiq, are stronger since the attack. Rafiq evangelizes at five brick kilns, inviting the workers to attend the home church he and Mumtaz started. Sadly, Rafiq and Mumtaz recently lost a daughter to an illness, but their faith and love for God continue to shine through in the midst of this hardship. Mumtaz says, “We can forget to eat, but we cannot forget to praise.”
We also received a report on Widow Parveen, whose husband was shot to death for preaching on a loudspeaker and pastoring a church. Widow Parveen wanted to leave her village following her husband’s death. However, she was encouraged by other Christian widows, and now she and her son, Mussa, are actively serving Christ in the area Parveen’s husband was martyred. Mussa is actively evangelizing and wants to go to school to become a pastor. What is even more amazing is that they are now preaching and sharing the gospel over the same loudspeaker that her husband preached from. Widow Parveen is often pressured to stop, but she replies, “Have the Muslims stopped their prayer over the loudspeaker? No. Then I won’t stop, either.”
Neither of these Christians display self-pity or regret despite horrible persecutions. Instead, they seem to be more boldbecause of what they’ve gone through for Christ. Mumtaz and Rafiq have such joy that they can only praise God, even when they are grieving the loss of a child and living in poverty most of us cannot fathom. Parveen has developed such courage that she is now broadcasting the gospel over the loudspeaker, even though her husband was murdered for the exact same thing.
These are not natural reactions to such horrible circumstances; however, I am reminded of John 12:25 - “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Although the wisdom of the world cannot grasp the paradox of Scripture, an uneducated Christian understands that even though they lose everything on this earth for Christ, they can have joy in knowing that they are not only gaining eternal life for themselves, but also spreading the message of the gospel so that others may gain that gift. Please continue to pray for these courageous believers.