At What Risk?

Luke 12:38 (NET) - But the one who did not know his master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

Persecution.

Since the earliest days of Christianity, persecution of the church has been a reality.

In many parts of the world, it still is.

Some nations claim religious tolerance and freedom and cite their legality of Christianity as proof.

The real proof of their intolerance is made apparent when converts become second class citizens.

New Christians in these countries often find it extremely difficult to marry or find employment.

So much for tolerance.

In some nations professing one’s faith in Christ can bring a death sentence.

I once watched a smuggled video taken with a phone of the execution of a man who was charged with evangelizing in his village.

The entire village was forced to witness this brave man’s execution by firing squad.

Immediately afterward, an army officer stood up in the back of his jeep and addressed the village through a megaphone.

The officer shouted his warning, "This man was a fool! Don’t be a fool!"

That nation rules with an iron fist.

It uses execution as a means of both eliminating existing Christians and intimidating others in an attempt to deter them from embracing the faith.

In reality, it is the government that is frightened because Christianity transforms lives in ways that it cannot.

Still, it continues to tighten its grip using a combination of fear and intimidation.

Yet even as its grip tightens, more and more of its citizens turn their lives over to Jesus.

That frightens it even more.

I once read of a young man in another country who, along with his friends, persecuted Christians.

Like Paul, this persecutor had a conversion experience.

This young man’s conversion was made possible because of the witness of one that he persecuted.

He now shares his faith in Jesus with others.

As a result, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to kill him.

In time, he learned that a contract had been taken out on his life.

That contract was paid for by his own father and that price remains on his head.

In spite of the personal risk, he still continues to share Jesus with others.

These are but two examples among several that I thought about this week.

Persecution has been on my mind a great deal because a friend who is a pastor in another country contacted me through a social network requesting my prayers.

That pastor's church is currently experiencing persecution.

Of course, I agreed and continue to pray for them and other persecuted Christians as well.

This forced me to think about my own country.

God has blessed us with the both the freedom and safety to worship,

At the risk of painting with a very broad brush, a less than desirable consequence has arisen among Christians in America.

That consequence is complacency.

As a whole, we seem to have lost some of the drive, some of the desire and some of the sense of urgency in sharing the Good News with others.

Those in regions of persecution risk much, and their flame burns bright by comparison.

This should concern us.

The church at Laodicea received a direct warning.

You can find it in Revelation 3.

As we near Easter and consider what Jesus has done for us, shouldn’t we be more eager to share the Good News with others?

We also need to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who currently face persecution.

We should also pray for those who persecute them.

After all, their need for Jesus is the greatest.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 5, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, April 12, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.