Reflections on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
Why is it that people who seek to do what is right sometimes become the very people others want to silence?
We might expect those who call for honesty, fairness, and accountability to be welcomed. Yet experience often tells us otherwise. Sometimes it seems easier to silence the person who challenges wrongdoing than to confront the wrongdoing itself.
There is research that helps explain this. In a 2008 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that people who refuse to participate in questionable behaviour can provoke resentment from those who do. Their refusal can be experienced as criticism, even when they have said nothing at all. Simply doing what is right can make others uncomfortable with their own choices.
Scripture speaks to this human tendency. Jesus tells us that light is not always welcomed because it reveals what we would rather leave hidden.
Called to Be Salt and Light
Jesus called his followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13–16). We are called to live as citizens of God's Kingdom, bearing witness to his truth, goodness, and righteousness in a fallen world.
Such a life will sometimes stand in sharp contrast to the values and practices of the society around us. Even without speaking, the way we live can challenge what others have come to accept.
In John 3:19–21, Jesus describes people loving darkness rather than light because they do not want their deeds exposed. Light reveals what darkness conceals, and not everyone welcomes what it reveals.
Yet our calling is not simply to live differently. We are also called to speak the truth of the Gospel, to proclaim Christ, and to call people to repentance and reconciliation with God.
In this sense, the Church shares in the prophetic work of bearing witness to God's truth. Throughout Scripture, the prophets were sent to confront sin, expose injustice, and call people back to God. Their messages were not always welcomed. Jeremiah was beaten and imprisoned. Elijah fled for his life. Many suffered because they faithfully proclaimed what God had entrusted to them.
Yet their purpose was not condemnation for its own sake. God called his people to turn from their wickedness and live (Ezekiel 33:11). His warnings were expressions of mercy, calling people to repentance before judgment came.
Jesus himself perfectly embodied this prophetic witness. He exposed sin and confronted hypocrisy, yet he came not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17). He spoke truth because he loved, and he offered life to those who would receive him.
His words and works provoked opposition, and ultimately he was rejected and crucified. Yet his death was no mere consequence of human hostility. In obedience to the Father, Jesus willingly gave his life for our salvation. Through his death and resurrection, he accomplished the very redemption he came to proclaim.
Jesus warned his disciples that those who persecuted him would also persecute them (John 15:20). We should not imagine that following him will always be welcomed.
The Cost of Faithfulness
Throughout history, Christians have experienced rejection, discrimination, imprisonment, and death because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. Today, many of our brothers and sisters continue to suffer because they refuse to deny him.
We should not be surprised when following Christ brings us into conflict with the world. Nor should we seek conflict for its own sake. We are called to live peaceably, to love our neighbours, and even to love those who oppose us.
Yet there is a temptation to remain quiet, to avoid uncomfortable conversations, or to compromise our witness for the sake of acceptance and peace.
Peter and John faced that temptation when they were ordered to stop speaking about Jesus. Their answer was simple: "We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20, NLT).
Can we say the same?
Hebrews 11 reminds us that faithfulness does not always lead to deliverance from suffering. Some, through faith, conquered kingdoms, escaped danger, and witnessed extraordinary acts of God's power. Others endured mockery, imprisonment, torture, and death. Yet all were commended for their faith.
Their circumstances were different, but their confidence was in the same God.
We are not called to seek suffering, nor does suffering itself prove that we are right. We are called to remain faithful to Christ, whether that faithfulness is welcomed or rejected.
Our Hope in Christ
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed for his disciples. He did not ask the Father to take them out of the world, but to protect them as they remained in it (John 17:15).
And he gave them this assurance:
"Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33, NLT).
Our confidence is not in our own strength or courage. It is in our risen Saviour, who has overcome the world and promised never to abandon those who belong to him.
We have been entrusted with a holy calling. We are to bear witness to the Kingdom of God, to be salt and light, and to remain faithful wherever our Shepherd leads us.
Will Christ find us about our Father's business, or will he find us more concerned with our comfort, reputation, and acceptance than with obedience to him?
Today, on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, let us remember those who are suffering for the name of Jesus. Let us pray for their protection, their courage, and their perseverance. And let us ask God to strengthen us to be faithful witnesses wherever he has placed us.
For if we suffer with Christ, we will also share in his glory (Romans 8:17).
God help us to be faithful.
