Worshiping God without Fear - by Diane Lantzy

One of my roles at Redeemer is managing Pages & Prayers bookstore.  Not only is working at a bookstore a dream come true but it has also impacted my spiritual journey in countless ways.

I am attracted to memoirs of all sorts because they allow me to learn not only about someone’s personal journey but also about cultural, historical or political circumstances in a way that is much more meaningful to me.   Two memoirs I have read are Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza, and Captive in Iran by Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh.  Both of these are memoirs by Christians in extraordinary circumstances. 

Left to Tell relates the story of Immaculee Ilibagiza.   In 1994, her world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide.  Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter – her family did not. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in a bathroom.  Her story is a story of God’s love and with God’s strength – the ability to forgive even the worst atrocities.

Maryam and Marziyeh – in Captive in Iran - recount their 259 days in Iran’s infamous Evin prison. These two women were arrested and held in prison for believing in Christ. It’s an amazing story of their unyielding faith—when denying their belief in Christ as the resurrected Son of God would have meant freedom.

From these memoirs I learned about the Rwanda genocide and repression of all sorts in modern-day Iran.  More importantly, I was able to witness deeply felt lives of faith where declaring your faith can mean imprisonment, torture or even death.  I sometimes hear people refer to the ebbing of the Christian faith and ideals from our American culture, as persecution.  While it deeply saddens and worries me when restrictions are put in to place that won’t allow Christian public displays or the political correctness that has stores and corporations saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas – this is not the persecution that so many of our fellow Christians are facing throughout the world.

At this time of year when, as a nation, we take time to thank God for the blessings He has given us, I am grateful to live in a country that provides me the freedom to worship God  without fear of imprisonment or torture. We are truly blessed with the freedoms this country provides us.  The memoirs I have read of Iran and Rwanda have profoundly deepened my spiritual journey.  I encourage everyone to read Christian books - and I believe that you will find that they enhance your spiritual journey as well.

- Diane Lantzy