Witness, Share and Evangelize: The Voice of the Martyrs

Friday, October 4, 2024

The Voice of the Martyrs - Willing to Lose for Christ

Prisoners for Christ, Letting “the Lord Shine Through”

In 2021, a group of Hmong water-buffalo traders brought an unexpected gift to Cai’s village in Vietnam — the gospel of Jesus Christ. Six families came to faith in Christ, including Cai’s. The new Christians weren’t quite sure what it meant to be a church, but they were eager to learn.

“We wanted to worship God, but we didn’t know how,” Cai said.

He said they began to meet together, often early in the morning or late at night to avoid the watchful eyes of government officials. The families of this fledgling church decided that the best way to gain more freedom to worship would be to register with one of Vietnam’s official denominations. They reasoned that being registered would put the local officials at ease, demonstrating that they were being good citizens.

It had the opposite effect.

Choosing to Lose

When the registration paperwork was brought to the local government, it set off an angry backlash that resulted in these families losing their land, being ostracized from the community and being cut off from even basic community services like electricity.

Even worse, authorities arrested the three leaders, including Cai. As registered Christians, these brothers reasoned, they could have enlisted human rights organizations to fight for their rights and help them avoid prison. But at what cost? The fight, they knew, would permanently damage their Christian community. Instead, they chose the path of humility and meekness.

“We talked to each other, and we said that we could not win them over by arguing with them,” Cai said. “So we decided that we would accept the loss and go to prison so that the Lord will shine through us. We had no one to help us, humanly speaking, but God is with us. The Lord will help us during our time in the prison. We said that we will lose so that the Lord will win.”

What Happened Next