There’s a photograph I can’t forget. It shows a group of Chinese believers huddled in a basement, sharing a single, hand-copied page of Scripture. They’re taking turns reading it aloud, memorizing each verse before passing it to the next person. The page is worn thin from handling, the characters fading. They have perhaps twenty minutes before they must hide it again.
In the U.S., half of self-identified Christians can’t be bothered to glance at their Bibles once a week.
The contrast haunts me.
The Price of a Single Page
Across much of the persecuted church in today’s world, God’s Word isn’t merely valued – it’s treasured as the most dangerous and precious thing a person can possess. Believers risk everything to obtain a single page. They memorize entire books because their physical Bible might be discovered and destroyed. They gather in darkness, in secret, for the privilege of hearing Scripture read aloud.
Meanwhile, many of us in the West approach our Bibles the way we approach our gym memberships: convinced of their value, vaguely guilty about not using them, yet somehow never quite getting around to it.
More Than Access
The difference isn’t just about access. It’s about hunger.
When following Christ might cost you your family, your freedom, or your life, faith stops being theoretical. The Gospel isn’t a topic for casual discussion or a belief system you modify to fit your preferences. It becomes the very ground you stand on, the only firm thing in a world that’s trying to break you.
What Persecution Reveals
In that crucible, something remarkable happens. The church becomes what it was always meant to be: a people who actually need God, who desperately cling to His promises, who find their identity in Christ rather than in comfort or cultural Christianity.
They can’t afford to show up at church out of habit or obligation – gathering together is too costly for that. They can’t treat Scripture like a collection of nice thoughts to pick through for the inspiring bits. When you might die for owning it, you don’t get the luxury of deciding which parts you like.
And somehow, in the midst of this terrible suffering, we see the church at its most vibrant. Not because persecution is good – it isn’t – but because persecution has a way of burning off everything that isn’t essential. What remains is raw, authentic faith.
Rich in Poverty
I think about the believers in Smyrna, sometimes referred to as “the persecuted church,” whom Jesus called “rich” even though they were impoverished and facing death. He offered them no criticism, only encouragement. They knew what it meant to pay a price for following Him.
Then I think about how easily we abandon church when it conflicts with our schedule. How quickly we dismiss Scripture when it challenges our plans. How readily we reshape our faith to accommodate our ambitions, our politics, our preferences.
The Abundance We’re Missing
We have access to more biblical resources than any generation in history. Multiple translations, commentaries, teaching, studies – all at our fingertips. Yet many of us can barely name the books of the Bible, let alone hunger for its truth the way believers in closed countries hunger for a single copied page.
The question isn’t really about them and us. It’s about what makes Scripture precious. It’s about what makes gathering with God’s people a privilege rather than an obligation.
An Invitation
I don’t say this to induce guilt, but to invite us into something better. Those believers in that basement with their worn page – they’ve discovered something we’re in danger of missing entirely. They’ve learned that when everything else is stripped away, Christ is enough. More than enough.
Perhaps the real poverty isn’t in the persecuted church.
Perhaps it’s found among those of us who don’t realize what we’re missing.
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There are ways we can support today’s Persecuted Church. See these blogs for more information:
Standing with Our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters
A Month of Prayers for the Persecuted Church
Blogs about today’s persecuted church:
A Month of Prayers for the Persecuted Church – 31 prayers based on Scripture
Standing with Our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters – a short, simple reminder that we Christians are all one in Christ, called to love and support each other
When the Bible Becomes Precious – sometimes we forget the value of the Treasure we see every day
Never Alone: God’s Presence in the Prison Cell – Petr Jasek proves Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
One Body, Many Members: When the Church Suffers Together – reporting on an occasion when the Church stood together in prayer to support a member of our Body
The God of All Comfort: When Martyrdom Leaves Families Behind – in some dark lands, spiritual warfare can be fatal
Passing the Torch: Teaching Faith in the World’s Darkest Places – teaching children about God is risky in North Korea, maybe even a capital crime
Water for a Thirsty Soul: The Desperate Hunger for God’s Word – stories of hope and joy when Bibles reach believers eager to read God’s Word
Here are links to my blog indexes, so please click one and keep reading!
My Books, Workbooks, and Fun Books
Knowing the Unknowable One
Opening the Treasure Chest
Walking Heart-to-Heart with God
Walking Heart-to-Heart with Each Other
Fighting the Good Fight of Faith
Christian Mysteries: Why I Love Them!
List of Some Nonfiction Books You Don’t Want to Miss
Index of Assorted Topics