Christian Conversion in Non-Christian Countries
God works in many mysterious ways. In majority-Christian countries right now, many people are turning away from God in favor of worldly and secular ideals. On the other hand, many people in the Middle-East and other generally non-Christian areas are having dreams about God and the Bible. These dreams are leading many to convert to Christianity even in the face of threats of death or exile.
It is believed that over the past twenty years or so that several million former Muslims have converted to the Christian faith. It is also believed that most of these conversions occur through dreams and visions, rather than by evangelists. The exact number of these converts is not known because large numbers of them operate underground churches, due to the risk of public worship. This risk is evident in the fact that, somewhere in the world, a Christian is killed every five minutes for their faith.
This conversion in the face of extreme hardship is astounding. As an example, in many African countries, Christians are facing immense persecution. Russia and China have both cracked down on organized religion in general, and Christianity in particular, in order to reign in control over their populations. Christianity is even being censored digitally now, thanks to the power of social media giants like Facebook.
All of this information brings up a great point. Just because you are Christian does not guarantee that everyone in your family is / will be (even if they identify as Christian). Similarly, just because you are born into a Christian family does not automatically mean you will go to heaven even if you act faithlessly. And the son of a Christian pastor may run from Christianity, but the son of a Muslim mullah may find faith in Christ.
We, as Christians, must all pick up our cross each and every day and follow Christ’s example out of pure faith. Whether that example is easy or hard and whether it causes us great benefit or immense hardship. For example, if your children come out as LGBTQ+, it is not a Christian’s duty to treat them badly or kick them out of the house. Instead, a Christian should love their child and pray for them.
Expect that you will face trouble on earth and that you will have to make the hard choice every day to be a Christian. You may be excluded from many worldly events because of your faith. And many Christians will be burned, raped, eviscerated, beheaded, and killed, and you have to be willing to die for Christ, just as He died for us. But remember that your family is a family of believers in Christ, not just your biological and worldly family. Your spiritual family will help you take heart through the struggles of life.
Eventually, when the time is right, the period of tribulation will begin and many casual Christians will deny their faith. Do not be one of them.
