It seems to me that today there is a great deal of hand wringing going on among evangelicals concerning the imprisonment on Pastor Saeed Abedini.
By all accounts he is a good man on a mission of mercy to help orphans. He has been accused of Christian evangelism and sentenced to eight years in an Iranian prison. He had to have known the risks when he went to Iran. I understand that this is a fearful time for his family and those close to him. I get all of that, and for that reason I write this with a great deal of somberness.
We as Christians need to take a step back for a little "Kingdom" perspective.
This is not the first time a Christian preacher has been put in prison for the sake of the gospel. In fact Jesus told us these things would happen. As much as we love religious liberty, we should not forget that great revivals can happen in prison.
Do I want Pastor Abedini to be freed? Yes, but my hope is not in a rescue by the U.S. Government. My prayer is that he will bear such a witness to the saving power of Jesus Christ, that prisoners and guards alike will believe on Jesus Christ as their Savior. I want his freedom to come in a way that brings glory to Jesus Christ.
As I understand it, he is being held in a notorious Iranian prison called "Evin Prison". It seems that in addition to hardened criminals,
this prison holds many Iranian intellectuals who are incarcerated for political
reasons.
It is unlikely that any missions organization would be able to penetrate this Iranian prison, but now there is an evangelical pastor of Iranian descent,
in this Iranian prison filled with potential national leaders. The Lord Jesus now has a light in a very dark place.
"Our Father in heaven, please grant Pastor Saeed Abedini courage and wisdom and favor and confirm you word in amazing ways!"
Pastor Saeed Abedini
