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DOES GOD CRY WHEN I HURT?

He was a Christian medical missionary, a sacrificing hero who left his homeland to serve far away in a country where he was surrounded by strangers. And then one dark November night, he was murdered in cold blood right on the front steps of his own home. Three bullets from thieves dressed in military clothes.

And a story like that hurts all of us, of course. We think about those verses in Matthew five where Jesus talks about "blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness." But perhaps we also get a sense that stories like these happened a long time ago. The word "persecution," especially "religious persecution," we don't think has much relevance here in the laid-back year of 2001.

Well, friend, the story I just mentioned happened to a Dr. Ranjan Kulasekere, a dentist from Sri Lanka who was serving his Lord and the people of Kigali, Rwanda. When did this tragic murder happen? Just about a 5 years ago, in November, 1997. Back in 1995, when the Rwanda troubles first began, Dr. Kulasekere and his wife and family were evacuated. But as soon as things calmed down, or so they thought, the family returned to their mission service. Now the wife and two college-age sons have to carry on without Dad. And the words of Matthew chapter five hit us in the heart and in the conscience. "Rejoice and be glad"? "Great is your reward in heaven"? Do those words provide real comfort for the three survivors in this grieving family?

A religious report came out which raised the issue of religious persecution over in Europe. And this isn't exactly going back to the Dark Ages and the rack and the guillotine; the bulletin is dated — get this — October 13, 1998. According to the Helsinki International Federation for Human Rights, there are 19 countries right now that are cited for abuses in the area of religious liberty: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kirghistan, Latvia, the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, Moldavia, Norway, Romania, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia. And this is just Europe; in other countries around the world — China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Iran — more people are being killed in the 20th century for their faith than at any time in all human history.

Maybe your ears perked up early in that list of 19 countries. Austria? you ask. Norway? Freedom-embracing, western countries like those? An Austrian law established in 1997 prohibits "(quote) new religions recognized by the State" except for 12 that are already in existence. In Norway, students in school receive mandatory instruction in religion, which, of course, would be the majority religion. All over Europe, right here in 2001, countries are gearing up to pass laws which strengthen the status of established religions and limit or discriminate against smaller groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses.

And perhaps you say, "I'm not a Jehovah's Witness, so that doesn't bother me much." Bringing to mind that old confession by Martin Niemöller about "When Hitler attacked the Jews, I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not concerned." Friend, the principle is the same whether you're on the inside looking out or the outside looking in. Religious persecution is wrong, the Bible teaches, but it's also inevitable. It will always be with us, Jesus says. But He also gives us strength and encouragement and comfort in dealing with spiritual hardships when they do come.

Maybe for you and me sitting here with our Bibles open on here in North America, where a Christian holiday like Christmas is just over ten weeks away, it's hard to relate to this. But I'd like to suggest that the promises of God regarding those for whom religious persecution IS painfully real can apply to you and me in our own trials, small as they may be by comparison.
Think with me about the country of Pakistan. Here's some news from a Guideposts article last year:

"Militant Islamic factions have launched violent attacks against Christians and moderate Muslims. Christians are often denied jobs and housing. They have been falsely accused of blasphemy, which is a capital crime. Mobs have beaten and killed those who have not been formally tried."

Or Sudan, where more than a million people have been killed in a 14-year-old civil war between the Islamic factions in the north and Christians and animists in the south. What does God say to them — those whose relatives have died, those who can't get a job because of their religious affiliation, those who have been forced from their homes because of their beliefs? And what does He say to you when you struggle with your own trials, when you don't have the same Christmas cheer as the other people who live on your block but are oblivious to your pain?

There's a wonderful truth that we find, both in the Word of God, and also in some of these stories. Maybe you've heard of the bestselling book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Rabbi Harold Kushner. How do we relate, not just to persecution and insults, but to just plain rotten, bad luck . . . those incredible strings of bad breaks that hit some people? What does it all mean? Where is God anyway? Here's what Rabbi Kushner writes:

"I believe in God. But I do not believe the same things about God that I did years ago when I was growing up or when I was a theological student." Now this is very forceful. Listen: "God does not cause our misfortunes. Some are caused by bad luck, some are caused by bad people, and some are simply an inevitable consequence of our being human and being mortal, living in a world of inflexible natural laws. The painful things that happen to us are not punishments for our misbehavior, nor are they in any way part of some grand design on God's part." And this is the part that has real meaning for us: "Because the tragedy is not God's will, we need not feel hurt or betrayed by God when tragedy strikes. We can turn to God for help in overcoming it, precisely because we can tell ourselves that God is as outraged by it as we are."

Did you notice the powerful truths here? First of all, God is not behind the pain and the persecution. Even the prophets were persecuted; even Jesus received the blows of torment, the spitting in the face. Was that from God? Of course not. There is such a thing as bad luck; there is such a thing as bad people. And yes, we just plain and simple live in an evil world where houses burn down, and sometimes houses of God burn down too . . . because an evil person with a can of gasoline set it on fire at two in the morning after spray-painting a swastika or an "N-word" on the sign out front.

But, as Rabbi Kushner writes, these tragedies are not God's will! Yes, He permits sin for a time because this is all part of a global experiment, a universally watched demonstration which is thankfully about to end. Here in 2001, for reasons which He knows are good and right, God hasn't yet cut short the devil's agenda. But notice again this last line:

"We can turn to God for help in overcoming it [the tragedy], precisely because we can tell ourselves that God is as outraged by it as we are."

In these countries where people are persecuted and killed, God is as angry as we are. In fact, more so because His own love is the greatest. Does God cry at the same funerals we cry at? Yes. He does. When you or a loved one gets that tumor report from the pathologist: "Malignant" — does He grieve too? Yes, He does.

And your blood gets a bit hot. "Well, why doesn't He prevent it then . . . if He CAN?" We don't know the answer to that right now. One person is healed and another isn't . . . and we don't know why. Some Christian preacher lives in Cuba and, like our friend Pastor Noble Alexander, endures 24 years in Castro's worst dungeons. Others of us live here in sunny California, and life is quite comfortable. Why the imbalance? Why doesn't God set free all the religious prisoners? Why not RIGHT NOW, that is? We don't know. But we know that God is angry about the prison bars and the pain and the pancreatic cancer and the prostitution that exists all around us. Our tragedies are His too. He's with us in every moment of sorrow; the insults that hit us in the face strike a blow at His too.

You know, all through the Bible, there's this picture of angels coming to rescue the persecuted. Elijah had that experience; so did Peter there in prison. So did Jesus — several times, in fact. When things are hard and a believer is in jail for his or her faith, we can be sure that angels are there, maybe even extra angels. And it's been a wonderful theme for us this week that the presence of God is the main thing for any person who is standing in the heat of the fiery furnace. Having the Son of God as that Fourth Man, that friend in the flames.
But notice as we close a beautiful blending of these two metaphors. Isaiah 63:9 talks about the sorrow and the travails of the children of Israel, who certainly knew about persecution. Here's the Word of the Lord:

"In all their distress He too was distressed." That's our message of hope for today. "In all their distress He too was distressed." Now notice: "And the ANGEL of His PRESENCE saved them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old."

Isn't that tremendous? "The angel of His presence." What greater comfort could there ever be?