Who is Truly Intolerant?

...then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.."
- Revelation 20:4

I just watched a video posted on a martyr's website that literally brought me to tears. I won't post a link because the scenes were terrible and my sons and some of their friends read this blog.

What prompted me to write this post was that the scenes of martyrdom shown on the video were largely of Christians enduring persecution in the Muslim world. It made me so upset to think that today in our secular America we are equated with Muslim extremism simply for truly believing in the Word of God. Yet not a word of condemnation from the secularists of our world against the treatment of Believers in the nations governed by Islam. No, instead we are attacked as fundamentalists...as if our fundamentalism was no different than that of those who strap explosives to themselves and kill in the name of their god.

I suppose, to be fair, that our fundamentalism is really scary though...for the fundamentals of our faith tell us to love and honor our God...to do good works in His Name. To love our neighbors and turn the other cheek when persecuted. Scary isn't it? We might actually convince people that they should give from what they have been blessed with. I guess that's just as scary as the peace loving people of Islam killing those among themselves who convert to any faith and away from Islam. I suppose that Christians peacefully protesting abortion is just as scary to the secularists as a Muslim beheading Christian converts and beating Christian missionaries.

Commit this day, those of you who are numbered among the Believers, to pray for our brethren around the globe who are encountering persecution. Lift up an amen for those who convert to the faith, who truly count the cost (as my family learned in Church yesterday...where our missionaries celebrated the new birth of a former Muslim and now sister in the Lord). Don't forget to thank God that He has so far protected us from similar persecution...or actually maybe we should be ashamed that we are not counted as worthy enough to endure it.