(By Brian Orme, Open Doors). There’s one thing I often forget when it comes to Christian persecution. One thing that can easily slip my mind when I read about the senseless violence on Palm Sunday in Egypt, the calculated murder of Christians in Nigeria by Boko Haram, the kidnapping of Pastor Koh in Malaysia, or the plan of radical Hindus in India to wipe out Christianity by 2021.
What is it that I forget?
Sometimes in the midst of the news and world events related to the violence or the marginalization against Christians, I forget that any and every act of persecution toward believers is really an attack on one person: Jesus Christ.
It’s easy for me to shift my focus to the tangible violence and oppression and forget that this is a deeply spiritual battle. Satan’s desire is to devour Christians and wipe out any and every representation of the King of Kings in our world.
When Jesus confronts Saul in Acts 9, He didn’t say, “Saul, why are you hurting these innocent people?” or “Saul, don’t you care about human rights?” No, when Jesus confronted one of the greatest persecutors of Christians at that time, He simply said, “Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
It all goes back to Jesus. We are His Body—the largest expression of the Son on earth. We’re attacked, ostracized, falsely accused, imprisoned—and even killed—by proxy of the name of Jesus.