Christians not only face persecution from the government in Vietnam, but they also meet resistance at home. When Tan* became a Christian, he stopped following the traditional ritual of worshiping his ancestors. His family distanced themselves from Tan because he was rejected by the community and faced opposition from the authorities. Finally, under unrelenting pressure from the local authorities, Tan’s family kicked him out. Tan and his wife were left alone with no job and no way to support themselves.
To make matters worse, Tan’s father taunted him, saying that God was not helping Tan. “Why don’t you pray to your God for a job,” Tan’s father would chide. Tan did pray, and God provided Tan a job.
Eventually Tan’s family realized that being a Christian had made Tan and his family better people. Though they had kicked them out, Tan and his wife continued to show love to Tan’s parents. When Tan’s mother became sick, Tan’s wife stayed with her in the hospital and attended to her.
“God moved in their hearts,” Tan says. “Now we have a good relationship. They see that we respect them.”
Christians like Tan face many difficulties in relating to their families after they turn to follow Christ. However, they know that their actions towards their families speak volumes about the presence of Jesus in their lives. Through the love that they show their families, many times the families will also turn to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Pray for Christians who are persecuted by their families:
Pray for God to strengthen Christians like Tan who face persecution from their families.
Pray for families to see the hope and joy that a relationship with Christ brings and to desire to know Jesus too.
* Name changed
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Throughout the month of May 2015, we are asking individuals, families, groups of friends, small groups, and churches to join with us and commit to pray for the peoples of Vietnam. We will be posting stories and sharing ways to pray daily through the blog, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also download a prayer guide and other resources here.