"If My People...": Hiding? Go Seek.

Sunday's sermon began with a warning: Pastor Althea reminded us that the church will suffer persecution. And, although this is not new information, her reminder hit us with a sense of urgency.  We in the West, and particularly in the United States, have grown accustomed to seeing Christians tagged as "intolerant"-- while, at the same time, the tenets of Christianity are not tolerated. It's an interesting juxtaposition. We can engage in meditation and mindfulness, vision-casting and 'imagineering', all with no backlash, but a desire prayed to Jesus can cost us our livelihood... asking Jesus to help us through life may cost us our lives.

Our pastor shared an important thought: our response to the threat of persecution is a better indicator of our relationship with Christ than any thing we might say in the absence of said threat. Pastor Althea pointed out that when persecution comes, some people will suffer gladly for the sake of Christ; others will hide, hoping to continue their faith-walk as an "undercover Christian" (or, to be blunt, they will engage in covert denial of Christ); and still others will switch sides, choosing to publicly deny Christ for the sake of their own physical safety or economic security.

In Second Chronicles 7:14, God gave King Solomon a set of criteria that are found in the kinds of people that are God's people. In the list is found a simple, yet profound, truth: God's people seek God's face. What does it mean to seek God's face? We seek through prayer. We seek through reading the scriptures. We seek through acts of worship and devotion. And, for the Christian, this face of God is found in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus encouraged His disciples with this truth: You believe in God; believe also in Me... anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father (see John 14:1-11 for context).

We have a precious case study in Scripture, and it keeps us from being too puffed up about our ability to stand for Christ in the midst of persecution. The case concerns Simon Peter: he was a man who sought after God, but when the pressure hit Peter the denials flew. The desire to stay alive at all costs was far stronger than his urge to seek the face of God no matter what the cost. Today, we face the same challenge. What is our response? Do we gladly suffer with Christ, or do we hide, or do we switch sides?