All this month, we’ve been discussing the persecuted church.
As I sit here in my air conditioned home, typing on my Mac about faith and Jesus without any fear of attack, I’m convicted about just how easy I have it.
I’ve never been threatened with physical harm because of my faith in Jesus.
I’ve never hidden my Bible from authorities or sent inconspicuous letters to friends and family because I can’t be too specific about my location.
Other believers across the world do these things. Their lives are in danger daily because of their faith. Their families are threatened and killed. Some of them have watched their children being tortured right in front of them.
They are the persecuted church.
Me, I’m a believer who has it easy.
Persecution to me looks a lot less like persecution and a lot more like an inconvenience.
Sure, some of us might be ridiculed for our faith. We might lose a few friends. Our families might not support our desire to go to church or be involved in a faith community. Our job could possibly be in danger. (And don’t get me wrong. These are hard things too!) But that’s about it.
Most of us living in the land of the free don’t deal with persecution that much.
And sometimes I wonder if that’s as much of a blessing as we often believe.
Maybe it’s not such a great thing that we have it so easy. Here are a few possible problems with the easy, never-persecuted life:
1. Easy lives don’t make us grow.
Do you know what happens when someone stops using their muscles? When I was in high school, I had a foot injury that forced me to walk on crutches for about 7 weeks. At the end of the 7 weeks, my calf muscle on my injured leg was almost non-existent.
When we don’t use our muscles, we lose them. On the other hand, when we stretch and strain them, they grow stronger.
It’s the same way with our faith. When our lives are easy, our faith is never challenged. It’s never strained or stretched. Persecution can make a person grow stronger in their faith much like exercise makes a person’s muscles stronger.
2. Easy lives might mean we’re not all that different than the world.
Is it possible we’re not persecuted because we don’t appear all that different than the world around us?
Is it possible the reason we fail to be ridiculed for our faith is because our peers don’t see it in our lives?
3. Easy lives might mean we’re too disconnected from the world.
I am thankful I have freedom to worship as I please, but the Bible is clear that those of the world will not like my faith in Jesus.
So if no one has any problems with my faith, then maybe my circle isn’t wide enough. Maybe I’m not around enough people who don’t share my belief in Jesus.
I can’t change the world if I’m never in it.
What do you think? Can you think of any other dangers to the easy life?
*Photo courtesy: Foreman Photography
There’s an interesting look at the question of ‘an easy life’ in an unlikely place; the latest of the ‘Rambo’ films.
The iconic John Rambo, who has turned his back on the world, and lives as a boatman in Thailand, is asked by a group of missionaries to ferry them into Burma so that they might bring medicine and spiritual comfort to the (largely Christian) Karens.
It’s a terribly dangerous thing to do, because the Burmese military is doing their best to exterminate the Karen people, and Rambo tells one of the missionaries, “You won’t change anything. Go home. You have a good life. Live it.”
To which her reply is, “That’s what I’m trying to do. Maybe it won’t change anything, but saving a life isn’t wasting yours.”
The film’s very Christian in its outlook; Rambo is wearing a cross when he delivers the classic line, “Live for nothing, or die for something.”
As a person with a broadly similar background as the fictional John Rambo (and some of the same problems in adjusting to The World…though I don’t have that kind of muscle definition) I find the message that full engagement, to the limit of one’s abilities, obviates any possibility of an easy life…and that is as it should be.
I LOVE that line: “saving a life isn’t wasting yours.” That’s awesome! Thanks so much for sharing.
The easy life is always hazardous to Christians. Trials and tribulation (of which persecution is one) help refine our faith. Additionally, if we are never in a position to let God’s power work in our lives, how can unbelievers see God, His power, or His glory? No one revels in troubles, but oh, how boring an easy life would be.