Stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be
strong. – 1 Corinthians 16:13
Tomorrow many will
celebrate Father’s Day by celebrating with their dad. They’ll give him home-made cards, gifts that
are strangely shaped like necktie boxes and probably give him his favorite meal
by grilling-out hamburgers or steaks.
There are others who will remember their fathers who have gone on before
them – reminiscing about the memories they shared and looking at old videos and
photos of their sweet father. There is
one family, however, who can’t do any of that.
They have to wait, wonder, and hope about their daddy. Waiting for word that he is okay. Wondering if he is in pain. Hoping that God will bring him home to
America.
The family I am
referring to is the Abedini family.
Saeed Abedini – an Iranian-American citizen and father of two children
and husband to Naghmeh – was arrested and imprisoned in Iran in 2012 by the
Iranian government. A former Muslim, who
converted to Christianity and became a pastor, helped the growth of house
churches in Iran. In 2005 he and his
wife moved to America and soon became citizens.
Saeed traveled back and forth to Iran to visit family and to also help
in the continued growth of churches there.
In 2012, he went to Iran to work at an Iranian-approved orphanage, but
was arrested and given and 8 year prison sentence. The Baptist Press reports, “Reports of Saeed’s
condition indicate Iranian authorities have tortured him, placed him in
solitary confinement and pressured him to deny Christ. Iranian prison officials have threatened to
lengthen his sentence because he is leading fellow prisoners to faith in Jesus.”
This courageous daddy
has not seen his two small children for over two years. He has missed milestones in their life,
watching them grow up, and being able to protect them like any father
would. Although thousands of miles away,
he is still teaching his children, however – as well as the rest of us. He is teaching his children and the world to
stand strong in faith of Christ. In 1
Corinthians 16:13, Paul urges believers to “Stand
firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.” I can’t think of anyone more representative
of this verse than Saeed. He has not
wavered or denounced his faith in Christ and although being tortured to the
point of having to be hospitalized, he has remained strong – strong in his
convictions and belief that Jesus is the Christ and that He lived, died, is
resurrected, and offers a free gift of eternal life for anyone who believes
that. At the
Southern Baptist Convention this past week, the Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission’s president, Russell
Moore, spoke eloquently of Saeed’s bravery saying, "And at every point,
the Iranian government seems to think that Saeed Abedini will get tired of all
of this treatment and renounce his faith in Jesus Christ, and at every step no
matter the beatings, no matter the imprisonment, no matter the exile, Saeed
Abedini has confessed with that great cloud of witnesses that Jesus Christ is
Lord."
As horrified as we are about this grave injustice,
persecution was foretold to us by Jesus Himself. He said that as believers in Him, we will
face persecution. Obviously, it is
different for everyone depending on location, ethnicity, circumstance,
etc. In John 15:18-20, Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it
hated me first. If you belonged to the
world, it would love you as its own. As
it is, you do not belong to the world, but have chosen you out of the
world. That is why the world hates
you. If they persecuted me, they will
persecute you.” But Jesus goes on to
promise HOPE to those being persecuted. Matthew
5:11-12 says, “Blessed are you when they
revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My
sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad,
for great is your reward in heaven.”
Those Christians being persecuted today – at this very minute – are true
heroes of the Christian faith. Even
though they know the danger they face, they continue to be courageous, stand
strong, and proclaim Jesus every. single. second. The rest of us have a lot to learn from these
champions.
Throughout Saeed’s
imprisonment, his wife, Naghmeh, has been his voice to the world. She has publically spoken out for Saeed’s
release to government officials, news stations, churches, the United Nations,
and the list goes on and on. During the ERLC’s
report at the Southern Baptist Convention, they had Naghmeh come and receive an
award of bravery for Saeed on his behalf.
As I personally watched her receive the award, I was truly inspired by
her bravery and that of her husband’s.
Yes, I had heard Saeed’s story before that day. Yes, I knew that he was being
persecuted. Yes, I knew that he was
separated from his family. But being literally
20 feet away from her and being energized by the words of Russell Moore, the
story I had read about on the news became real.
I couldn’t bypass this story anymore.
After the report, the ERLC group walked off-stage and because I had to go
off-stage too in order to make some copies of questions that had come from the
floor, I took the opportunity to speak to Naghmeh. Normally I wouldn’t do this because I don’t
want to overstep my bounds and take advantage of where I am and what I am
doing, but I felt so strongly that I needed to tell her I was praying for her
and her family. I tapped her on the
shoulder, she turned, and I said, “Thank you for your bravery. I’m praying for you and your family.” She gently said, “Thank you, sister” and gave
me a hug. She didn’t have to do that,
she could have just said thank you and moved on, but she took the time to be
appreciative and thankful and that spoke such volumes to me. This woman is a hero of the faith too…she is
also standing strong, being courageous, and proclaiming Christ through her
story. She is truly inspirational.
I saw that Naghmeh was on
Instagram and followed her just so I could keep track of what is going on with
Saeed’s story and know specifically how to pray for her and her family. Yesterday, she posted this photo and related
it to Father’s Day. I’m going honor
Naghmeh’s request and take part, I hope you will too:
What can you do? Pray.
Pray that God will bring Saeed home to his precious family. Pray that he will be able to be treated by a
doctor as he is very weak and ill from being tortured. Pray also for the other persecuted Christians
around the world – Saeed is just one of many who are experiencing the exact
same situations because they won’t denounce Christ. Secondly, you can contact your senators and congressmen
to take steps in DC to facilitate Saeed’s release. You can also keep this story and that of the
persecuted church in the forefront of your mind and heart. Inform other Christians about it, keep the
chain of prayer and petition going.
Lastly, you can be inspired by Saeed and those like him around the world
and stand up for Christ. This world is
getting crazier by the milli-second and there is going to be a point and time
that you are going to have to stand up for your faith. Know the Word, know your beliefs in Christ,
and stand firm in them both.
As you spend time with
or remembering your dad this Father’s Day, take a moment to remember the
Abedini family and the bravery, strength, and courage that each one of them are
exhibiting every single day.
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