By Pieter Vermeulen, ICC Board Member, as part of a series, “Persecuted but not Forsaken.” Throughout this series, we have seen a pattern emerge across the pages of Scripture. From Abel, whose blood cried out from the ground, to the prophets who were rejected by their own people; from Job’s mysterious suffering to the suffering servant of Isaiah; and from the cross of Christ to the persecution of the early church, we encounter the same recurring truth. Faithfulness to God in a broken world often carries a cost.