Sometimes bad things happen to good people who are trying to live for Christ.
That may be one of the best ways to describe persecution to your children or grandchildren. Since their lives are so different from kids living in countries like Nigeria, North Korea, and the Central African Republic, it may be challenging for them to grasp why people are persecuted for their religious beliefs.
Another way to teach them about persecution is through stories of other children they can relate to, like the ones we’ve posted about throughout this month on the blog. If you’ve missed any of them, you can click on the links below to read more about …
– Jewel, a 5-year-old girl in South Asia whose father was arrested and bullied
– Ruth, a Nigerian teenager who followed Jesus even when her own family turned on her
– 50 children in China who were taken to the police station for attending church
Today’s story is about Purity, a girl who lives in the Central African Republic. We’ve changed her name because she and her family live in a dangerous country where some Muslim extremists kill Christians.
We hope you’ll share Purity’s story with the children in your life:
Purity could tell something was wrong. She could hear crying and fighting outside of her house. And her mom kept looking out the window for Purity’s dad.
He had gone to do some shopping at the market and wasn’t home yet. Purity knew her mom was worried.
Finally, her mother looked at Purity and said, “You need to take your brothers and sisters and get to your grandparents’ house now.”
Purity still didn’t know exactly what was going on, but she obeyed. She grabbed the hands of her younger siblings and rushed them toward the door.
When Purity got outside, she saw a bunch of people running to get out of town as fast as they could … so she and her siblings began running, too. Purity wished her grandparents’ house was closer, but at least she knew the way.
Purity looked back over her shoulder at her house. She heard loud bangs coming from her neighborhood. She was scared.
When they got to their grandparents’ house, Purity’s grandmother took them inside while they waited for their mother to arrive. Now, it was Purity’s grandmother who was looking out the window.
Purity couldn’t wait to see her mom and dad walk through the door.
But when the door finally opened, only her mother walked in. And she was crying. She told Purity and the other children that their father had been killed.
In the country where Purity lives, there are some people who don’t believe in Jesus and get so mad at Christians that they want to hurt them or even kill them. This is what happened to Purity’s father. And it happens to a lot of other families like Purity’s … just because they are Christians.
But Purity and her family love Jesus so much that they didn’t stop believing in Him. They keep praying to God and worshipping Him.
The next time you pray, will you pray for families like Purity’s? Pray that God will keep them safe and comfort them when they’re afraid.
For more short stories you can share with your kids, click the button below and download our kid-friendly prayer guide for the persecuted church.