Our last few months we have been in countries where Christians are outcast, shunned, persecuted and abused for their faith. They live in fear of what their families, friends, or communities will do to them if they renounce their previous religions and come out in their new faith. In America we hear of these things but nothing compares to seeing them in front of you. These months weighed heavily on my heart and it was difficult to witness all of this persecution and knowing I couldn’t help them. So when we were leaving Nepal and coming to Armenia I was excited to be in a predominantly Christian country.
Armenia is an incredibly old nation and their Christian roots run deep. Armenians were first introduced to christianity by the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century. They were the first country to establish christianity as their state religion in 301 AD and still today 95% percent of the population declares themselves to be Christians. Arriving here we were excited to be in a place where we could share freely and be surrounded by this beautiful culture.
Armenia has been incredible. The people here are so kind and willing to talk with us, there is so much history to experience, and we have an amazing view of Mount Ararat from our kitchen window. However, walking the streets you can’t help but feel the sober and solemn state of the people.
Before we arrived I had read a little about the Armenian Genocide but I didn’t realize how much this tragic event would influence my time here. In 1915 Armenians came under attack of the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. They were brutally murdered, tortured, kidnapped, abused, and persecuted for their faith and ethnicity. They attempted to force the Armenians to convert to the islamic faith and many caved in hope of survival only to come face to face with death after they converted. They tore families apart, murdered innocents, and permanently scarred an entire nation.
We had the chance to visit the museum and memorial that honors these victims of the genocide. We spent a few hours going through the museum and seeing the horrors of this tragedy laid out before us. Every wall was a new heartbreaking photo, testimony, or quote. These people were denied all of their rights and their humanity was stripped from them but they clung intensely to one constant, Jesus. One survivor’s quote has not left my mind since we visited the museum,
“..I saw my own mother’s body, its life ebbed out, flung onto the desert because she had taught me that Jesus Christ was my Saviour. I saw my father die in pain because he said to his little girl “Trust in the Lord; His will be done.” I saw thousands upon thousands of beloved daughters of gentle mothers die under the whip, or the knife, or from the torture of hunger and thirst, or carried away into slavery because they would not renounce the glorious crown of their Christianity..”
There is so much power in the promise from the Keeper of that crown.
There is endurance in suffering. There is strength.
There is love. There is grace. There is forgiveness.
There is redemption.
1.5 million Armenians lost their lives in the genocide.
There is no doubt that this event was meant for evil, it was meant to cause divide, to bring curses and pain for all the generations to come. But we serve a God who is so much bigger than the evil of this world. We serve a God whose light is so powerful that darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5). We serve a God of grace, restoration, and love.
The Armenians who survived brought children into this world and they taught them about this mighty God. They taught them that Jesus Christ is their Saviour. They taught them to trust the Lord and his will. They taught them about the glorious crown of righteousness awaiting them in Heaven. They taught them that no struggle, persecution, or pain of this world is greater than that crown.
100 years later Armenians are still teaching their children these truths.
100 years later Armenians are still healing from this tragedy.
100 years later Armenians are walking in forgiveness towards the country that took away their ancestors.
They are seeking to bless the nation that nearly destroyed them. They are sending out missionaries to share the love of God with the descendants of those who murdered their grandparents. They are seeking to share the promises of “the glorious crown of their Christianity.”
I am fairly certain that this quote will never leave my mind or my heart and I hope it doesn’t. I hope that for the rest of my life I remember the example of these Armenians. I hope these words are permanently stitched into my heart to remind me to live a life worthy of that glorious crown (Phil 1:27). I hope that in my darkness days I recall this quote and remember that the momentary troubles are nothing in comparison to the glory of God (2 Cor 4:16-18).
John 1:4-5 “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Philippians 1:27 “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles of this world are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Timothy 4:6-8 “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure in near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
