Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84Plough Quarterly • Autumn 2016 15 ground at her feet. The resident, a Muslim, opened his iron door and then locked it behind her, saving her from certain kidnapping. In the midst of all this tragedy some surprisingly cheerful individuals stood out. In obtaining the pearl of great price – faith in Jesus Christ – these new Christians had been given an overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. They said they were no longer worried about their situation because their future was now in the hands of the Lord. Several testified that Jesus had saved them from death at the hands of extremists. We marveled to see in their jubilant faces the work of the Lord in this war-torn land. Shouldn’t our prayer be that those who have driven these people from their homes find faith and repentance, too? Most of the people we spoke with want to emigrate because they do not see a stable future in Iraq. This was not surprising. But we found others opposed to emigration on nationalist grounds. They would say to us, for example, “This is our country, our land and the land of our ancestors. Our history is here.” Or, “We will not leave our homeland. We have sacrificed our blood for it, the blood of many martyrs in many wars.” Or, “Have we killed so many of the enemy, so many ISIS troops, only to flee?” This attitude, expressed so passionately, made Layla and me remember why we left Iraq. Didn’t Jesus tell us to love our enemies? Is it not our calling as Christians to represent the peaceable kingdom of God here on earth? Although every homeland is precious, Christ and his church are our dearest treasure. If governments ask us to do evil things against the commandments of Jesus, we must obey God rather than men. When this brings perse- cution, sometimes we will have to stand firm, and sometimes we may have to flee. We did not feel we could advise anyone whether to go or stay. We would pray with them for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But we did urge them to stand together in solidarity as a Christian community, putting the principles of the kingdom of God into practice as a group: lifelong commitment, full dedication, total sharing, love to all people, and service to one another, their neighbors, and their country. For this is God’s will for his people, and this is the most important testimony they can bring to the world: unity, solidarity, a shared future, and a shared destiny. The church of Christ is a united group, not a bunch of independent individuals who are not bound to one another. In every decision, we should give priority to the church, which represents the kingdom of God on earth as its holy embassy.  Christians who fled Mosul worship at Erbil’s Mar Shmony Church (June 2016). Photograph by Safin Hamed /AFP/ Getty Images)