Separated for Christ

In his editorial for The Voice of the Martyr’s May newsletter, Dr. Tom White talks about how parents facing persecution decide to involve or not involve their children in suffering. What would you do? After all, children are young. They have their whole lives before them. Why should they suffer for their parent’s decisions? Read the May newsletter to hear what some parents have chosen.

For a Christian in Cuba named Juan, avoiding suffering was not an option. Juan had already lost his job because of his faith. He, his wife and three children were barely surviving financially. But when his children were given the choice to join the communist youth organization, Juan didn’t even consider it.

“I am totally convinced that since Christ called me through the gospel, he made me leave all the former things. I separated myself from anything I considered sin…” he said. “We do not belong to anything here in [Cuba].”

In elementary school, Cuban children join a communist youth league called the “Pioneros” or Pioneers. In order to join the Pioneers, the children have to swear allegiance to the Cuban flag. Then the children are given a red handkerchief that they wear with their school uniform, signifying that they are Pioneers.

Juan said, “Christ said his kingdom is not of this world, and we converted to him. …We only wanted to do what He wanted us to do. Our interpretation was that to be a Pioneer you had to be a follower of Che [Guevara].” (Che Guevara, one of the guerilla leaders of the Cuban revolution, was a brutal killer in the name of communism.)

Joining the Pioneers was not an option for Juan’s kids. It might have been a choice that made their lives more peaceful, but it was not in line with who they were as followers of Christ.

Because they didn’t join the Pioneers, his kids had problems at school. Teachers and school administrators discriminated against them. Though their grades were good, teachers did not give them opportunities for advancement. Other students would mock them, calling them, “Christian, Christian!”

“When they took this stance, which in my opinion was best, it formed their personalities to be Christians, and they have actually become Christian workers. My children are evangelists. Their spouses are evangelists. Their children are not Pioneers, either. They do not belong to the world, the political or human system, but to Christ,” said Juan.

“Jesus calls us to live a life of sacrifice. He paid a price with his life, so we [also] have to pay a price.”

What about you? Where does your allegiance lie? What are the choices facing you? How can you show that you are separated from the world and living for Christ? What sacrifice is Jesus calling you to make?