Before I was a Christian I remember thinking that one of the things that I would find convincing about the effects of faith would be a person whose happiness – or more correctly, joy – did not depend at all on outer circumstances. In 1978 I saw an interview with Richard Wurmbrand in which he recounted his days of being imprisoned and tortured for his faith. The particular thing that stuck in my mind was his account of how at night he felt if he did not give expression to his inner joy he would burst; he danced with manacled feet in his tiny cell.

I subsequently saw him in person a number of times and was equally moved by his talks. His books, in particular Tortured for Christ, are well worth reading.

We comfortable Christians in the West are prone to forgetting that we have Christian brothers and sisters who are still prepared to give everything for what they believe. We should remember them. pray for and support them.

Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Heb 13:3