Caring for others is in the spiritual DNA of a Christian because it is  God's nature

That is why I write about Care Ministry and why every Christian and Church should be known by the way they care for people.

That is also how we care for people. God give followers of Jesus a new nature and it matches His loving nature, because it is  the Holy Spirit that gives life to the new nature.

This post recognizes how many Christians care in the worst of  circumstances.

Caring works in the worst situations in the darkest places on earth.

Recently I heard the comedian, Tim Hawkins, do a routine on the cliche, "That's the worst." He referred to his wife's response to his daughter waiting on friends at the mall with, "That's the worst." We might use it when our favorite football team is favored by two touchdowns and looses by four. Getting the flu, or stuck in traffic often get a "That's the worst" response.

Caring usually takes place in the worst circumstances in a person's life. After a loss and during times of suffering, "That's the worst" may be correct.

So, when I saw this week's email from "Christianity Today" (https://newsletters.christianitytoday.com/ ) with an article on The 50 Hardest Places to Be A Christian, I couldn't help but thinking, "This IS the worst." And then I noticed that believers who are living in the worst of the worst are caring for each other.

The following information from the ministry, Open Doors, used in the "Christianity Today" article, sobers us with the condition of human suffering, inspires us with the acts of people to care for others and educates us about God's power to equip people to care for others in the worst of circumstances.

The following material is from the Open Doors website: https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/north-korea/. 

"What does persecution look like in North Korea?

Being discovered to be a Christian in North Korea is effectively a death sentence. Either believers will be deported to labour camps as political criminals, where they face a life of hard labor which few survive, or they are killed on the spot. The same fate awaits family members. There are believed to be tens of thousands of Christians held in labor camps across the country.

It’s impossible for Christians to live freely in North Korea. Meeting for worship is almost impossible and must be done in utmost secrecy, and at grave risk. In May 2023, five members of a family were arrested as they gathered for prayer and Bible study. Christian literature was also confiscated. The group had reportedly been meeting on a weekly basis, and their arrest followed a tip-off by an informant.

The deplorable treatment of believers is driven by the authoritarian regime’s view that Christians are a particular threat to the country’s leadership and society. The "Anti-reactionary thought law" (enacted in December 2020) makes it amply clear that being a Christian or possessing a Bible is a serious crime and will be severely punished. The churches shown to visitors in Pyongyang serve mere propaganda purposes...

There has also been a growing shortage of food, with thousands at risk of starvation.

The crisis has been so severe that the authorities began a mobilization campaign to get people farming, but many have avoided participation because food isn’t provided. However, even as believers experience their own shortage of food, they've been selflessly helping others. “There are inspiring stories told to us that [North Korean] believers are helping their neighbors—sharing food, medicine and other resources they own, even though the food is not enough for even themselves,” says Brother Simon*, Open Doors' coordinator for North Korea ministry."