RE: Acts 7 Expect Persecution. Love Unconditionally.

As a US citizen I enjoy remarkable privilege. The Bill of Rights is all absolutely stellar, and one of my favorite bits is the promise that my government will, at no level and under no circumstances make laws prohibiting or enforcing religious practices. This is an especially precious amendment for me as a protestant and a Lutheran. At one time in Europe a person could be banished, censored, or even executed if they contradicted their government's religion. A lot of people were killed, and it delights me that my government has promised not to do this.

This protection, however, comes at a cost. By baring our government from enforcing or prohibiting any religion, it may not enforce my religion either. In exchange for our freedom from government persecution we surrender all opportunities to spread Christianity through legislation, which is fine with me. I don't think Christianity spreads very well through legislation anyway. The law of God couldn't make men holy (Romans 3:20), so it stands to reason that US law would have hard time of it as well.

I love my religious freedom but it is important, for me and all Christians, to remember that our religious freedom is nice, but will not always be guaranteed. It is a right we're entitled to by the current constitution of our particular country. It is not something God has promised us. Jesus promised we'd endure hardship because of him (John 15:18-21).

I read Acts 7 today, in which Stephen was put on trial and stoned to death for being a Christian. What amazed me was that at no point did Stephen protest his treatment. He blithely accepted his impending murder and the violation of what we now consider to be natural human rights. It was as though he expected the whole thing and was not only unsurprised but amiable, even asking God to forgive his oppressors as Jesus did before him (Luke 23:34).

How do we apply a chapter like this? I've heard that a rather lot of Christians are miffed that their rights are not being protected aggressively enough (Fox News). I've heard Christians complain about not being accepted in the mainstream, the scientific community, or in education.  These complaints would be hilarious when juxtaposed with Jesus promise of persecution if the foul attitudes that produce them were not so harmful. Christians have ample instruction on how to handle persecution and oppression (Matthew 5:39), but in a nation where Christians seem more likely to harass than to experience harassment, I'm dumbfounded that we appear so unsatisfied with our luxurious rights, our enormous majority, and abundant ministerial resources. The Christian church in the world does experience real persecution, but here in the US many of my brothers and sisters don't know enough unbelievers to make persecution plausible.

Challenge:

Stephen, and countless others lay their lives down (Hebrews 11:37-38), loved their murderers, forgave them, and asked God to do the same. They turned the other cheek, and trusted in God instead of retaliating (Romans 12:19). You probably won't be asked to die heroically, but you can live heroically if you live with the unconditional love of Christ. When you are slighted, insulted, or treated rudely because of your faith, it is then that you have the opportunity to love your enemy and pray for them that persecute you (Matthew 5:44).  Do so. Remember how much and how freely you have been forgiven (Luke 7:47), so that you may love as you have been loved (1 John 4:19).  God speed.

RE: A Call To Conscience Chapter Two

The Birth Of A New Nation introduced me to the story of Kwame Nkrumah (KWAH-me en-KROO-muh), a native of the colony that would become Ghana and a child of two illiterate parents. Nkrumah worked his way to the US; put himself through college working as a dishwasher and a bellhop. He then returned home to lead nonviolent protests which resulted first in his imprisonment and ultimately in the freeing of his nation from British colonialism. I have a new hero.

Powerfully, King praised the righteousness of nonviolent protest, and how it wins hearts instead of battles, though he promised that no oppressor ever voluntarily gives freedom to the oppressed. King promised that any nonviolent protest must expect some violent opposition. Referencing the story of Israel’s Exodus he observed that when you leave Egypt, you have to face a wilderness. The whole time he kept reminding me of Jesus telling his disciples that following him would mean facing persecution.

King also spoke very critically of the Church of England, and though he pulled no punches he quickly moved past criticism to praise God that inaction on the part of a church can never mean inactivity on God’s part. The following excerpt is long for a quote, but I copied it by hand into my notebook because of how deeply empowering I found it. I hope it empowers you.

“I thought of many things. I thought of the fact that the British Empire exploited India. Think about it! A nation with four hundred million people and the British exploited them so much that out of a population of four hundred million, three hundred and fifty million made an annual income of less than fifty dollars a year. Twenty-five of that had to be used for taxes and the other things of life. I thought about dark Africa, and how the people there, if they can make a hundred dollars a year they are living very well, they think. Two shillings a day—one shilling is fourteen cents, two shillings, twenty-eight cents—that’s a good wage. That’s because of the domination of the British Empire. All of these things came to my mind, and when I stood there in Westminster Abbey with all of its beauty, and I thought about all of the beautiful hymns and anthems that the people would go in there to sing. And yet the Church of England never took a stand against this system. The Church of England sanctioned it The Church of England gave it moral stature. All of the exploitation perpetuated by the British Empire was sanctioned by the Church of England. But something else came to my mind: God comes in the picture even when the Church won’t take a stand. God has injected a principle in this universe. God has said that all men must respect the dignity and worth of all human personality, ‘And if you don’t do that, I will take charge.’ It seems this morning that I can hear God speaking. I can hear him speaking throughout the universe, saying, ‘Be still and know that I am God. And if you don’t stop, if you don’t straighten up, if you don’t stop exploiting people, I’m going to rise up and break the backbone of your power. And your power will be no more!’ . . . . And I say to you this morning, my friends, rise up and know that, as you struggle for justice, you do not struggle alone, but God struggles with you. And He is working every day.” – King, The Birth Of A New Nation 1957

We never labor alone. We can do everything through Christ, who gives us strength (Phil 4:23)

RE:Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglas, An American Slave

Last month I read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave and I am very glad I did. It is a short book of only about 100 pages but is very emotionally intense all the same. It tells in his own words, the story of a man born into bondage, who experienced an oppression unfathomable to my mind. Douglas writes, with gut wrenching honesty, about the corruption brought by slavery to the soul of slave holders, he writes with unparalleled eloquence about the power of literacy to free the human mind, and he writes, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, about the discrepancies between the Christianity of Christ and the Christianity practised in the United States.

If you are unfamiliar with the book I give it my highest recommendation. A first hand account of a man raised as a slave offers marvellous insight into the human condition, the Gospel of Christ, the power of the written word. If you have a sensitive heart and cannot stand to read the whole bloody story I recommend chapter VII for its it's insights on the power of reading, chapter X which contains Fredrick Douglas' pivotal anagnorisis, and also the appendix, which contrasts Christianity and the religion of oppression.

The full text is available on Project Gutenberg.

Or available at Amazon.

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Blessed are the Persecuted - 2nd Tuesday Of Lent

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:10

Two guys were waiting by my brother’s yellow truck. They pushed him and spat on him, while I’m sure he could’ve taken them both down, he stood and took their abuse until they got bored. My brother’s offence was a small bumper sticker he’d gotten to cover one that came on his truck. “Jesus” was all that the sticker said.

My brother doesn’t talk about that event. He brushed it off his shoulder, forgave the guys and to my knowledge he never looked back. I admire how he continued to witness by turning his cheek and be forgiving so readily. I’m sure it was hard. Jesus’ words here are a comfort if you are being hurt for living rightly. If you’ve ever had this experience you know what a comfort they are. I’ve met too many Christians who complain of what they call persecution, which is often only resentment they’ve earned from the people they’ve brow beaten.

Challenge:
Evaluate your heart; are you righteous when righteousness is unpopular? Do you show off when you do? Have you resented your persecutors instead of forgiving them? Jesus energetically desires to forgive all your sin, invite him to take it from you. God alone can make you righteous, depend on him and he will do it.

“Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.” –Psalm 32:2

Persecution

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)

One morning while I sat in eighth grade history class, a group of misguided men, desperate to get into heaven, piloted a pair of airplanes into the World Trade Center towers. These men believed it was noble to be killed for their faith and that God would reward them. Instead of living right lives and turning the other cheeks to persecution, these men sought out a death they believed would bring a reward. They threw their lives away to hurt their enemies. Sadly I’ve met Christians with a similar attitude.

Many throw away their witness for the sake of baiting persecution. They brag about how angry people get with them, but being rejected is not the same as being persecuted. To share the rules of God without sharing love will guarantee persecution, but no reward from God. These evangelists speak harshly instead of with loving kindness and respect; they rejoice when their message is rejected flippantly, imagining they’ve earned a better resurrection.

To share Christ must be to share his selfless love. To preach without love is to preach something other than the gospel. If you share God’s word for social status, for self-improvement or to earn a better resurrection, you’ve missed the point. No such person belongs on a soapbox. They belong back at the foot of the cross. Only when pride and ambition have fallen off can such a person share the gospel in all its selfless, unconditional and life changing power.