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This Problem May Be Just What We Need



  
All my life I have heard people in prayer thank God for the blessing we have in this country to be able to worship without any fear persecution from authorities.  I’m not “a prophet or the son of a prophet” but with the changes in our modern word, I wonder if that will be the case for much longer.  That might seem a radical idea to some but consider how quickly our world is changing in how it thinks about moral issues (homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, etc) and how quick it has become to pass laws to control “undesirable” behavior and thinking.  I not sure that an expectation of increased political pressure on churches is too radical a guess, however let me say something even more radical:

I’m not sure we should be thanking God that we are not persecuted more.

 I'm thinking about Acts 5:41, 
“So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”
 I’m thinking about 1 Peter 4:13-14,
“but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
 I’m thinking about Philippians 1:29,
For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
   In the Bible, the church grew fastest and spread further because of persecution not because of the lack of it.  A person that has faced no persecution for his beliefs can never be sure how committed they are to their faith. A person that has never doubts.  The scripture tell us clearly in 2nd Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” but more often now what we call persecution is more inconvenience than true persecution.
  
   What the Lord’s church might be in need of are those that will show the ultimate example of trust in God by remaining faithful even when the hedge is “taken” away.  Martyrs who's faith can’t be denied because they truly have suffered for it. Those that receive the blessings of those worthy of suffering for the cause of Christ rather than those that have it “easy”.  
    I wonder if this lack of suffering has made us soft.  We complain so much about our inconveniences, when everything isn't just the way we like it, all these minor issues that become trivial when we face true concerns.  Maybe having to worship in the tombs, knowing that if we are caught it could mean our life, might be the only cure for our pettiness.
   The thing that we been so happy to not have all these years may just be the thing the church today needs to get it closer to God.
1st Peter 5:9-10

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