Persecuted for Preaching!

I read the article in the paper yesterday and the headline, "16 moderate Muslim preachers killed in Mali " and almost skipped over it with a mental note to myself that these were Muslim preachers in Mali and it had nothing to do with my idea of New Testament theology, much less my side of the world.  Then I chastized myself and its warped thinking.   "Am I my brother's keeper? idea --did it say anything about having to be of like mind, the only sound mind!  I think not.

So I read it with a different eye.   These preachers were headed to a conference, members of the peaceful Dawa sect, when they were shot dead in central Mali.  Mali militia looked at their long beards and confused them with the extremists which had taken over the nation's north area.  The military are seeking for justification as the families call for an investigation.  In the end sixteen Muslim ministers are dead!

And Mali investigators are at the scene:       

Persecution is persecution!   Violence is violence no matter who is on the receiving end or the dispensing end.  So today, I sit here as an American Christian and lift up these grieving families to the only God I know and wish I could say to them,  "You have served your god well, true and loyal servant.   May you and your families have a sense of peace."

Christ knew that those who spoke for him, regardless of language or ethnicity, would face persecution and he tried to tell them that they should beware of all circumstances which would seek to do them evil.  In Matthew 10:23, Christ said, "When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another."  Two things were not written in small letters:  just give up or stay there and fight.

My heart goes out to every minister who faces anger, violence, repercussions or evil in their midst each day.  The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:10) say:  "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven."