All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Mark 13:13

"The Hindus are coming to kill you."

That was the text message that was sent, as a warning, to Indian Christians, some weeks ago, in the northeast Indian town of Gadragaon. Many in that village escaped into the jungle, where they hid for several days. The utter brutality and murderous carnage that took place in that village is difficult to imagine. Men, women and children were butchered, mercilessly, simply because of their witness to Jesus. It was just one, of many sickening attacks on Christians across this part of India. If you like, you can read more about it here:

India: where Christians are a target for the religious murder mobs--The Times Online

My question to those reading, is this: How does all of this make you feel? Does it make you angry? Sad? Do you really make an internal connection to the reality of what is happening? Or, do you give it a few seconds of thought, before moving on to other things?

Perhaps you feel helpless, because India is on the other side of the planet. Perhaps it is just too much. Now consider, for a moment, the fact that this incident is just the tip of the iceberg. India is just one country, among many, that routinely kill Christians. Make no mistake, as a worldwide body of believers, we are in absolute crisis; fighting for the right to exist. For those of us in relatively Christ-friendly cultures, we may not realize the full impact of the attack that we are under...yet.

Jesus tells us that a day is coming when all men will hate us because of him. This is nothing short of terrifying. He also encourages us to stand firm, to the end. Many are doing just that...standing firm, for the sake of Jesus namesake, until the very end of their lives while we labor and complain over what we, in the priviledged west, consider to be living for Christ.

Take a moment today and pray; pray for the friends and family of those murdered by the hands of hate and rage; Pray for healing; Pray for peace. But most of all, pray for those who commited the murders. Pray that they would find Christ, repent and commit their lives to him. That is the most important thing that we, being compassionate brothers and sisters, can do today.