To me, this says a lot about the very different conditions that Christians live in.
Meeting the Iranian woman was a kind of rediscovery of the Great Commission for me: Go and make disciples of all nations. This commandment, and the Christian congregation's response to it, runs like a red thread through the history of the church, as an obligation that we cannot run away from, but that we must boldly run with. Mission is in the DNA of the church. Without mission, the church loses its legitimacy.
Therefore, there is extra reason to look to our warring sisters and brothers who have to carry their cross inside their clothes. For even a small cross can become a mighty testimony in God's hand, for he can and will write all peoples into his great salvation history. Including the Persian people, which we see and hear so many examples of these years - also in Denmark.
Already in the Book of Ezra it says about Cyrus the Persian king's decree to rebuild the temple: "In the first year of Cyrus the Persian king's reign, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to fulfill the word of the Lord through Jeremiah." It is deep in God's nature to want to mission and awaken faith in all peoples, so let us pray and work for the many hidden crosses to become mighty testimonies of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ!
Frederik Berggren Smidt (born 1973) is a parish priest at Fredens-Nazaret churches in Østerbro in Copenhagen, songwriter and author. The first volume of the family chronicle, Hjerter i brand, was published by Forlaget Kharius in 2016.
