Living in a nation that is privileged with religious freedom, it is often easy for us to forget what it’s like to be brutally persecuted for our faith. When we think of martyrs, our minds readily reflect on biblical figures like James or John the Baptist, but the truth is that it’s still happening today.
In America, we’re often shielded from the terror that ISIS inflicts on Jesus followers, but the Middle East is no stranger to Christian persecution, as one young girl’s account of sacrifice clearly shows.
While acts of religious terrorism by radical Muslims are tragically becoming more common, her story in particular is gaining widespread attention because of her final power-packed words.
According to a report by the Catholic News Agency, one Christian mother from Mosul answered her door to a group of ISIS militants who said she must flee or pay a jizya tax, a penalty imposed by many Islamic states on their non-Muslim subjects. She only requested a few seconds to retrieve the payment, but they refused to give her the time. Instead, they immediately torched the woman’s house while her daughter was in the shower, “burning and eventually killing her,” reported the CNA.
The young girl died in the arms of her mother, but the final two words she spoke just before she passed have resonated with the world.
Forgive them,” she said as she took her last breaths.
I don’t know this young girl. She remained unnamed amidst the many brutal victims that were remembered in a New York City conference on Christian persecution. But she is certainly a hero of the faith whose final act of forgiveness captured the grace of Jesus Christ in a way that shook me to the core. I often struggle to forgive a harsh word or a wrongdoing by a friend, but how can I hold bitterness in my heart when she forgave her enemy while immersed in flames? What kind of love that must be.
May the humble, Christ-like character of this child be a reminder to us all of what it truly means to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”~Ephesians 4:32
13 Comments
She’s with Jesus in heaven to God be Glory
Glory be to almighty, for he lives.may God continues showing his love to all humanity. We can’t judge but let God himself look into it,
GOD FORGIVE THEM JUST AS THE YOUNG GIRL SAID!!!!!
BUT MANY CHRISTIANS ESPECIALLY IN AMERICA & EUROPE HAVE DENOUNCED JESUS CHRIST BY SAYING THEY ARE ETHEIST & HAVE LGBTQ FAITH.YET IN THIS LIFE WETHER YOU ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR THERE’S A PRICE TO PAY OR MORE AND WORSE PRICE TO PAY IF YOU REFUSED JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR PERSERSONAL SAVIOR,THE PRICE OF ETERNAL HELL FIRE WHICH THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IS IGNORANT OF GLOBALLY, THE CHURCH NEEDS TO WAKE UP FROM IDOL WORSHIP LIKE{MODERNITY,ALPHA CITIES,CRYSTAL CANCER HOSPITAL} & FOCUS ON THE ETERNAL GOSPEL BECAUSE WHAT YOU SEE THE ISIS IS DOING NOW WILL ONLY ESCALATE IN POST RAPTURE..U WILL LONG FOR THE DAYS OF THE GRACE BUT IT WILL HAVE GONE…REPENT IN CHRIST JESUS NOW AND EMBRACE HOLINESS, IN HIM ONLY THERE’S HOPE BEYOND THE TOMB.
Stephen used the same words during his stoning,Christianity is the way and Jesus our Lord is a live.May your Saul rest with Him that liveth.
God save her soul
This is whatis called true Christianity. May the Lord rest her soul in internal peace
May the Lord grant me the Grace to forgive easily those who hurt me.
Amen
No body know whether the mother forgave them. But the young girl pointed out for us christians what it means to be a Christian.
To forgive an offence is a wonderful experience, and only those who experience it understand it.I am not saying one should simulate it. Mercy rejoices against judgement. James 2:13
Rest in peace sister
God dey who said God not dey,may her soul be with peace.Also pray though lost their souls through religious beliefs.Religion doesn’t send some one heaven but faith.