If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
– 1 Corinthians 12:26
I’ve often caught myself saying something like, “As the End gets closer, the Church will begin to be persecuted again…” However, this betrays some really deeply entrenched global-blindness on my part….
The Bible teaches us that the Church is one body, one spiritual organism, called both the Body and Bride of Christ. And, just as with a human body, if one part suffers, the entire organism suffers.
If my hand was too close to a flame and started to be burned, the rest of my body wouldn’t sit idly by and think, “as I get closer to the fire, I will get burned.” No, if my hand is burning then my entire body will recoil. I act as a single organism.
In the same way, the Church is a single, global organism and she already is persecuted. In fact, 2014 has been called one of, if not the, most intense years of persecution in her entire history…..So, I wanted to create this picture as a way of reminding myself that, even though the fires have not reached the “hand” (or what have you) that is America or other “safe” countries, I am still very much connected to those who are in the worst of the flames…
And just like a human body responds when one part of it is hurt, I want to respond as best I’m able to the suffering experienced – even as I type and as you read this – by our brothers and sisters….members of the same Body…who are suffering around the world.
May the Lord give us empathy, wisdom, boldness and love to know how we might be brothers and sisters to our persecuted family.
