Then Saul, still
breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the
high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the
synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether
men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3 As he journeyed
he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.4 Then
he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why
are you persecuting Me?” Acts
9:1-3
Before the Apostle Paul was the Apostle Paul he was Saul of Tarsus. Saul
was so zealous for Judaism that he dedicated his life to stamping out “any
who were of the Way” (Christians). This meant he subjected those professing faith in Christ to beating, imprisonment and even
death.
Saul actually became a convert to Christianity, when in dramatic fashion;
he encountered the living risen Lord Jesus. Notice that Jesus said to him “Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting Me?” Jesus didn’t say
“why are you persecuting My followers?”, but “why are you persecuting Me?”
According to Jesus, when His people are persecuted, He is being persecuted.
As Christians we should not be indifferent to the
persecution of believers around the world. Not only are our brothers and
sisters in Christ suffering, but Christ is being persecuted. When we stand for
the persecuted we are taking a stand for Christ. “39 Or
when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And
the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you
did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you
did it to Me.’” (Matt. 25)
One of the many persecuted Christians in the world today is a man named
Saeed Abedini. Saeed is an Iranian American pastor imprisoned in Iran for
sharing his faith in Christ. Saeed has been in prison since September of 2012. According to Fox News, last January he was sentenced to “eight
years in prison for threatening the national security of Iran through his
leadership in Christian house churches.”[1] Because of his faith in Christ, Saeed has endured numerous life-threatening beatings while imprisoned.
How can you stand for Saeed? Commit
to praying for Saeed’s strengthening while in prison. Pray
for his release. Take part in a prayer vigil that Saeed’s wife, Nagmeh, is organizing on
September 26th. You
can also go to savesaeed.org to sign a petition for Saeed’s release, or write him a letter in prison.
Remember, what we do for the
least of our brethren we do for Jesus.
[1] http://www.foxnews.com/world/
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