Jesus promises his followers that they will be persecuted, just as he himself was persecuted (John 15:20). Throughout the Bible, we see that opposition and hostilities await those who love God and seek to be obedient to Him.

While we are not called to avoid persecution, we are, however, called to support those who suffer for their faith, as the global body of Christ, as if we were caring for Christ himself. In 1 Corinthians 12:25-26, the apostle Paul endears to the church: “But God has put the body together… its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.”

God cares very much about His children who experience persecution, and He also has given them a global family to stand with them.