Persecution

I met a guy last night at church wide prayer who is in the United States from a country ravaged by violence and persecution of Christians so that he can pursue seminary. He prayed the most beautiful prayer from Psalm 18:1-3: 

 ¹     I love you, O Lord, my strength.

²     The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.

He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³     I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I am saved from my enemies.

His prayer (obviously) got me to thinking about that question Christians are asked from time to time: "If someone were to put a gun to your head and ask you to renounce Jesus, would you do it?" 

Obviously, there's no way to answer that question until you're there. And obviously, nobody truly looks forward to a chance to test their personal theory of how they would respond.

But those kinds of situations don't keep me up at night very much like they might my friend from another culture. We're fortunate to live in a country where those types of scenarios are isolated incidents, and where the odds of that kind of situation are extremely rare. 

I'm more concerned about an ongoing chipping away at my stance and dedication by sarcastic or ambivalent people over a long period of time.  Our society is so tolerant that most people don't care enough to put a gun to your head. They just don't care. So the one-time do-or-die chance to stand for your faith isn't my greatest concern, it is the fact that I stand in a culture who couldn't care less what I believe that keeps me up at night. The persecution of apathy and sarcasm. 

Seems like Peter and Paul had a similar concern for the people they shepherded. Most of us won't have to die as martyrs like Peter and Paul - but all of us are called to stand against the grain, and that can wear you down. 

"...scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is the 'coming' He promised?" (2 Peter 3:3-4)