Pure religion is to visit widows, not hunt them; to care for orphans, not make them

Throughout the world, Christians become martyrs every single day. This regularity, however, should not make such murders mundane in our hearts. A sparrow never falls to the ground without the Father knowing it, and the news of the murder of a Christian brother or sister should never enter our own ears without bringing us to prayer. God is God and we are His people, the people who pray.

Take a minute today to read and weep for a Christian sister in Somolia who was murdered two weeks ago by Islamic extremist al Shabaab rebels. She left behind five children, the eldest of whom is 15. They are now orphans because their father was also slain for his faith in Christ in December. Since that time, those responsible for the man’s death had been on the lookout for the widow. On April 10, they found her and  on April 13 notification came that they had killed her.

Islamist militants in Somalia have killed the widow of a Christian who was slain for his faith in December, leaving the couple’s five children orphaned, Morning Star News reports. Islamic extremist al Shabaab rebels shot 42-year-old Fartun Omar to death on April 13 in Buulodbarde, 12 miles from the central Somalian city of Beledweyne, sources said. The extremists had been searching for her for several months, as they knew that she was a secret Christian like her late husband, Mursal Isse Siad. Siad had been receiving death threats for leaving Islam, and was shot outside his home by two unidentified masked men on Dec. 8, 2012.

After his death, Omar initially fled the area with her five children. “A week before she was killed, rumors were flying that the al Shabaab were looking for her,” one of Omar’s neighbors said. Due to the threat of persecution, Omar on April 10 decided to leave Beledweyne by bus with another neighbor to seek refuge with relatives, the first neighbor said. On reaching Buulobarde, which is controlled by al Shabaab, militants at a roadblock ordered passengers to disembark and questioned them one by one. “Unfortunately, she was not cleared by the al Shabaab,” said the neighbor who accompanied her. “I only heard one of them saying, ‘This is the woman whose husband was killed last year. Do not let her in.'” The other passengers were allowed to board again, and the bus left, with Omar’s neighbor suddenly responsible for caring for her children, the oldest of whom is a 15-year-old girl. “On April 13, I received news from Beledweyne that a woman in Buulobarde had been killed by the al Shabaab,” the neighbor said. “Soon I found out that it was Fartun Omar.” Sources said Omar was found dead on the outskirts of Buulobarde with bullet wounds to her right side. “The children are in safe hands, and I am trying to look for some of the relatives of Omar,” the neighbor said. “The only problem that I am experiencing at the moment is that the small children are crying for their mother.”   (Source: Morning Star News, via ChristianToday)

James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

What does it say about adherents of a religion who not only kill a father of five children because he converted to Christianity, but also then hunt down and kill the widow too? These five children now face a lifetime of affliction brought on by the Christian martyrdom of their parents. Evil has a face and we must learn to recognize it when we see it. This story is one example.

May God give these children the immediate provisions with which to survive. Then, may God be pleased to give them long lives, Christian faith, the faith to forgive their enemies, and a bold winsome Christian witness within their native land. Pray that even as the enemies of the Gospel have killed the body, they will not succeed in extinguishing the spirit of these two faithful Christians. Even in these circumstances, may God snatch victory from death and use what others have meant for evil for His ultimate good.