I woke up Easter morning and heard the news that churches in Sri Lanka had been bombed and that some hotels were bombed as well. It looked as if westerners were targeted and of course the usual suspects were named. It is disheartening and maddening and frightening, which is what it is meant to be. Lots of people tip toe around what is a blatant evil as if not calling these evil acts what they are will make the demons who perpetrate them nicer.
Anyway my concern is for the lives of Christians around the world who are being attacked and persecuted at alarming rates and it is not reported as widely as it should be. We have to be very careful how we talk about and promote our missionaries and even report on their activities lest someone use social media to track them down and do something awful.
When I was in India we visited places that we had helped after the great Tsunami. LCMS World Relief and Human Care had helped in various projects and it was a joy to see what had been done and a bit saddening to see how much needed to be done. We were down on the Indian Ocean and walking the beach when someone pointed off into the distance and said ” off there is Sri Lanka”. He told me how Christianity came to that island. The Apostle Thomas, who we get to pick on this coming Sunday, preached there, or near there and many Christians from India came over there for trade. It is not far from India itself and Thomas was in India. The Christians there are about 7%of the population.
We have missionaries there and I ask that you would pray for them and their safety and their word so that the word of God may “Speed on and conquer”.
