Persecution
"Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me."
- John 15:20-21
"Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
- 2 Timothy 3:12
How do I reconcile these verses with my life? I had the pleasure of watching the final segment of a six-part series by John Piper on fighting for joy, and one of the things he recommended was to visit a website on persecution. There's a tab on the left entitled, "Country Info." I decided to read about Christian persecution in North Korea.
The 2005 North Korea report is rather grim. I can't truly imagine what my life would look like if I lived in a country that did not permit me to worship the triune God, or people that would toss me into prison for not hanging up a picture of Kim II Sung or Kim Jong Il in my place of residence.
I also got to read about persecution in SEND! magazine, a Gospel for Asia publication. What would I do if I was a pastor with a family, and got thrown out of a place that doubles as home and church building for sixty?
On the contrary, I live in an area that allows me to think freely, worship freely and never have to worry about threats against me to deny Christ. Praise God for these blessings!
However, what if this prosperity continues for the rest of my time in this perishable body? Would this lack of persecution indicate that I don't desire to live godly in Christ?
- John 15:20-21
"Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
- 2 Timothy 3:12
How do I reconcile these verses with my life? I had the pleasure of watching the final segment of a six-part series by John Piper on fighting for joy, and one of the things he recommended was to visit a website on persecution. There's a tab on the left entitled, "Country Info." I decided to read about Christian persecution in North Korea.
The 2005 North Korea report is rather grim. I can't truly imagine what my life would look like if I lived in a country that did not permit me to worship the triune God, or people that would toss me into prison for not hanging up a picture of Kim II Sung or Kim Jong Il in my place of residence.
I also got to read about persecution in SEND! magazine, a Gospel for Asia publication. What would I do if I was a pastor with a family, and got thrown out of a place that doubles as home and church building for sixty?
On the contrary, I live in an area that allows me to think freely, worship freely and never have to worry about threats against me to deny Christ. Praise God for these blessings!
However, what if this prosperity continues for the rest of my time in this perishable body? Would this lack of persecution indicate that I don't desire to live godly in Christ?
posted by G Cracka X at 8:26 PM
1 Comments:
Graham, good thoughts here, brother. As I was reading though your post, I wonder if we simply face a different form of persecution here in Disneyland... er, Northern Viginia. Though our physical lives are not necessarily directly threatened here b/c of our faith in Christ (but i tend to think we would be more serious about our faith were that the case), we do indeed have to worry about threats that lead to denying Christ.
Perhaps the persecution we face is a more subtle one, where we are so clouded by comfort and busyness that we deny Christ by simply "forgetting" He is here. We are blessed with great freedoms here, no doubt - and praise God for it! But subtle threats lead to subtle paths to subtle denials - and the denial of the heart is no less real than a verbal denial at gunpoint.
Though the threats we face may not be as obvious - numbness, apathy, ambiguity, etc. - we should take them no less seriously.
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