Persecution and the Costs of Love

Here in the United States, we like to talk about how Christians are being persecuted. And while we may have occasionally been made fun of or seen instances where a company or government entity discriminated against someone for following Jesus, few of us have seen anything like a pastor recently experienced in Kenya.

The man grew up in the Muslim faith. But four years ago, he left Islam for Christianity and had been pastoring a small church in Kenya. The new pastor lived in a mostly Muslim village and was aware of his precarious position. To keep from raising suspicion among his Muslim peers, he would sometimes attend prayers at the local mosque. When COVID arrived, he figured the pandemic made for a good excuse to stop going to the mosque.