I want to encourage all followers of Jesus to remember our brothers and sisters around the world who are facing mistreatment, persecution, violence, and prison. It’s easy to read their stories, throw up a quick prayer, and move on. Their names can be difficult to pronounce, their cultures foreign to us. But each of these individuals is a man or woman, just like you and me.
They feel fear and pain. Many have families they love and who count on them. They are not so different from us. No, they are just like us. The only difference between us and them is most of us have been blessed to have been born and/or live in countries that afford religious freedom.