In a recent Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, Tom White quotes a Vietnamese woman named Vu who recounts her persecution experience.
Tom White on interrogation sessions of Vu:
“When I started sharing about the Word of God, four other policemen came in. They had been in the nearby room listening. I shared the gospel in tears.
“They questioned me for two hours, ‘Why do you believe in God?’ I told them about Jesus, how the Lord is good and how He has saved my life. I focused on God’s love toward man…
“In the beginning they were very furious, but later they were persuaded by the love of God. I forgot they were policemen. I also forgot about the dangers I might face. I desired that the Lord would bring them to His love, just as I have been brought to His love.
“At the end of the talk, one policeman asked me, ‘If now we want to believe in God, is it possible?’ I said, “Yes, anytime.’
“I have shared the gospel with 15 policemen and with many other people I meet on the street. I have gone to the police many times and always see new people in different offices and police stations. The police never have me talk with the same policemen because they know I will convince them to become a Christian.”
It was interesting to note Vu was more concerned about being Christ to them than protesting to the government for not letting Christians construct a church building. Our battle is not against flesh and blood; it is not for bricks and stone.
(Voice of the Martyrs, July 2007, pg 2)
I find it notable that Vu’s focus was on sharing the gospel with her captors. As Tom White points out, she was less concerned about government not letting them construct a church building. I would venture to say that in American evangelicalism, in the same situation we would probably be more concerned about our “rights” being violated than the spread of the gospel to those who wronged us. We would be calling the local news stations and the ACLJ to get legal counsel to fight for our rights.
Have we missed the boat? Why is our focus so much on ourselves? I pray that we would respond in a Christ-like biblical manner to the cirmumstances we experience as Christians who have been blessed with such a tremendous amount of freedom.
The Excogitating Engineer owns an online storefront for a Christian bookstore called Pathlight. The idea behind the existence of this store is that the Excogitating Engineer and many of his friends buy books and Christian products online from secular companies such as Amazon but Christians can buy from Christians at places such as Pathlight and have the profits recycled into the kingdom. This storefront gives you the opportunity to funnel the profits from Christian bookstore purchases to Christians which will, in turn, be able to be used for the expansion of the kingdom of God.
The Excogitating Engineer loves books and so does his wife. In fact, his wife was his first customer. I suspect that many visitors to this blog are avid readers and lovers of Christian books. I am not asking you to visit www.pathlightstore.com to buy anything you were not already planning to purchase. However, when you decide to shop for a Bible, Christian book, a music CD, movie, church supplies, etc., please stop by Pathlight and give it a try. If you would like a particular item that you can’t find or would like a special discount please let me know.
