I am frequently led to reflect on the biblical exhortation: "Be as mindful of prisoners as if you were sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill treated as of yourselves, for you may yet suffer as they do" (Heb. 3:3 NAB).
While Jesus spoke of a day in which all shall be held accountable regarding the concern they have shown the hurting and needy (Matt. 25:31-46), there is a sense in which such concern becomes particularly applicable in relation to those paying a price for their commitment to Christ. Within this frame of reference, the apostle Paul repeatedly spoke of his imprisonments and suffering for the faith. That fellow believers remained mindful of him was important; "Remember my chains," he wrote (Col. 4:18).
Today we were reading of Christians in rebel controlled areas of Columbia who similarly know the cost of dedication. Over the years many, particularly those of native Church leadership, have known the meaning of not only threat, but oftentimes martyrdom. One account was of a native pastor whose home was invaded one night by armed guerrillas. Granted his final request to kiss his wife and children goodbye, he was then led out into the yard and shot.
How little we know that which brothers and sisters in other areas of the world already know; that which the truly committed have often known throughout the history of the Church and, we are persuaded, that which we ourselves shall likely come to know in days perhaps not that far distant.
"Remember the prisoners... you also are in the body" (RSV). Christ has only one Body. We are in this together.
Burl Ratzsch
