A friend of mine has been having a very hard time lately with having her faith laughed at, frowned upon, and basically treated badly. She knows who she is, and some of you do too. I went to comment on her page, but as I began to type out my thoughts I realized that they would fit much better in a post than a comment box; so this is dedicated to her, though I hope others who look at it may also find it encouraging.
When we as Christians in the 21st Century think of persecution, we usually think of the great martyrs of past ages - the apostles Peter and Paul and James (and many others); Christians sent to the arenas in Rome to be killed by wild animals; Protestants burned at the stake during the Reformation. This is automatically what our minds turn too, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It is certainly good for us to remember that those men and women had a much harder time of it than we do now, as we live in fairly comfortable nations that have a high tolerance for most religions.
But there is another type of persecution that Jesus addresses in His Sermon on the Mount -
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they speak ill of you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
The "speaking ill of you" and "saying all kinds of evil against you" refer to a more verbal persecution than the physical deaths that Christians faced and which some still face today. This is a persecution that comes from the tongue, which James says later in the New Testament is "a fire, a world of iniquity." (James 3:6) It is the abusing of ourselves and our faith by unbelievers - something that does hurt a great deal, and is indeed a kind of persecution. It is never easy to hear other people mock us and make fun of us for what we believe.
And yet, Christ says that we are blessed by God Himself when they do. These things that other people do to us now are only storing up treasures for us in Heaven. The persecutions will not last forever, but while they do we know that we are suffering, not for our own sakes, but for Jesus Christ's - and I believe that in our hearts we would rather suffer for Christ than live in comfort for ourselves.
Following Christ is not a walk in the park. Paul and the author of Hebrews both describe it as a "race," not a mere walk. Jesus told the rich young ruler to "take up the cross and follow Him." A cross is a burden; it is not easily carried. But Christ carried His so that we might be able to carry ours, whatever it may be, and we are blessed for carrying it.
The Writer
- Abigail Hartman
- Writer of historical fiction, historical fantasy, and occasionally just straight fantasy. History major focusing on medieval & early modern European history.
4 comments:
I find it utterly fascinating that I determined to write on persecution this morning, and then I read Lucy's post, and then I read yours. Again, you and I have addressed the two sides of a coin. I had to laugh when you brought up Paul's running the race, for I brought up his fighting the good fight.
Cheers.
I started to cry when reading this. I don’t really know what to say other than thank you so much! *snugs*
First of all, this was beautifully written. Simply heartbreaking. I must admit that it is so easy to forget that there are and was others that were having it a lot harder. I think it was wonderful of you mention the martyrs from the old days. It sets things in perspective. And it is a great reminder. No doubt about that. Myself, I would have thought about them at once and nothing more, if I can say it like that.
I sat down today and read James. (Here, I always want to say Jackob. I blame the language barrier.) It’s so easy to forget to remember that it does happen for a reason. I want to say thank you so much for showing me the other side. I think it was exactly what I needed. If only words could describe how thankful I am. This really helped a lot, and it was really encouraging! And AMEN for Jesus Christ! *snugs* Love you. ^.^
Jenny: Well, it's not as if we're related or anything... I'll scoot over and read your post in a moment. Right after I finish Biology.
Lucy: I'm so glad that the post helped you! I can only imagine how hard it must be for you, especially when there's no one else around who is a believer. I was hoping that what I wrote would be able to encourage you, but I was so tired when I wrote it on Sunday that I was convinced it came out sounding trite and you wouldn't get a thing out of it. It's so encouraging that you did!
Keep remembering that I'm praying for you. I love you a lot; I hope school tomorrow goes well.
"The persecutions will not last forever, but while they do we know that we are suffering, not for our own sakes, but for Jesus Christ's"
Amen. Thank you for this wonderfully encouraging post - it's a great reminder to us all.
~Katie (Morning Glory, on TLC. Just so you know I'm not some complete stranger. (; )
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