True Privilege

As we continue our reflections on this past Sunday's sermon, let's consider one part of one verse: ...the disciples were together with the door locked for fear... (John 20:19).

For the first-century church, there was a definite fear of the Jews. People like Saul were traveling the countryside with warrants to arrest men and women who claimed Jesus Christ as their Lord. And of course we can't forget our Revelation series, which informed us of the crises imposed upon Christians by imperial Rome. Certainly no one would condemn the Christians of that time for hiding behind closed doors. Right?

And here we are in the twenty-first century...and things like that don't happen anymore, right?

Wrong.

We have Nazarene pastors that, in our time, are hiding in fear of their lives. We have Christians whose homes and businesses have been burned to the ground. There is real persecution and conflict that is based not on what they have done, but is imposed because of Who they love and serve. I'd encourage you to read this for yourselves... http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?id=10006338.

Unfortunately we in the West have become accustomed to a gospel of ease and prosperity, not heeding the warning of Christ that the world hates us just as it hated Him (John 15:18-25). A couple of days ago I was watching a certain religious program and the preacher kept saying, "No Christian is going to suffer! The economic crisis is not going to even come to your door!" Well, when there's no food, no gas, and the infrastructure of the city has collapsed... when pastors in India are hiding in the forest trying to stay alive... when Christians in Muslim nations are handed the death penalty for embracing Jesus as their Lord... well, that all sounds like suffering to me.

What does the apostle Paul say? In the middle of Philippians, the epistle famous for its constant use of the words "joy" and "rejoice", Paul says this: "I want to know Christ, to be like Him, to suffer with Him, to have in me that same power that raised Jesus from the dead" (Philippians 3:10, paraphrase mine).

Friends, will you say yes to the privilege of suffering with Christ? Will you take pleasure in bearing disgrace for the sake of His name? Will you "rejoice and be exceeding glad" (Matthew 5:12) when it's your turn to hide in forests and catacombs?

India is not so far away.