July 13, 2025 - INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE HEART

Abby Cheng

Open Doors is a Christian organization that works in more than 70 countries, supplying Bibles, training church leaders, providing practical support and emergency relief, and supporting Christians who suffer persecution and discrimination for their faith. On their website, you can find the World Watch List, which annually ranks the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution. For multiple years in a row, North Korea has topped this list due to its dictatorial and “deified” leadership. Recognizing any deity beyond the Kim family is considered a threat to the country's leaders and is thus severely punished, either by death, hard labor, and/or punishment of extended family. It is impossible to gather for worship or prayer, and even secret worship and prayer is at great risk. Official spies could inform on you, if they have any indication that you are a Christian, and so could your neighbours or teachers. 

Reading today's passage in 2 Corinthians 4 immediately brings Christians that live in countries like North Korea to my mind. They are literally “pressed on every side by troubles…perplexed…hunted…knocked down.” You know for sure though that their faith is genuine because they are choosing to continue worshipping God despite the very real dangers that they face. Verse 11 clearly reflects the reality of their lives: “Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.” 

The average North American Christian definitely does not suffer the same kind of persecution as the North Korean one, but Jesus does promise all believers that if we take up our cross and follow Him, we can be sure to share not just in His glory but also in His suffering. Let us press on then in the face of our present troubles and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the one whom we are living our lives for. Let's also remember and pray for our brothers and sisters all over the world who are persecuted for the sake of Jesus, that their suffering is not in vain and through it that the name of Jesus is glorified.