If you follow news of Turkey, you may have heard that 3 Christians (two Turks, one German) were killed in southeastern Turkey at a Bible publishing house on Thursday. They were murdered by five young men who blindfolded them, tied their hands behind their backs and slit their throats.
It’s been very unsettling for the local believers here. Being a Christian in Turkey has never been easy, but there has been a disturbing rise in nationalistic violence against Christians in recent years. Last year a Catholic priest in Trabzon was shot in a chapel in the middle of prayer. A few months ago an Armenian Christian journalist was gunned down by a 17-year-old ultra-nationalist. In addition, the country’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has publicly stated in the past that foreign missionaries are here to convert the country’s children and are a threat to Turkish culture.
But despite this atrocity, I feel a sense of optimism. These acts may seem wrong, hurtful and evil (which they are) but they are also the promised avenue of church growth and gospel expansion by the Bible. We should feel many emotions in situatons like this, but suprprise shouldn’t be one of them.
These three men lost their lives for no other reason that they publicly professed their lives as Christians and are witnesses of truth. This is exactly what Jesus promised would happen to his followers. But he also promised that we should show the world his love when we filled up in our flesh what was lacking in regards to his afflictions.
My biggest hope is that the Turkish church responds to this atrocity in a Christ-like way: recognizing it as an evil event, but offering forgiveness to the wrong-doers. Then they can show this country what real love is — a love that makes everything else seem insignificant by comparison –even death.
May his church here be richly blessed in all his fullness.
