As Jesus traveled toward Jerusalem, He prepared His followers for the kind of persecution He knew they would face. Today, the majority of Americans are not persecuted for their faith. At most, some are left out of off-color break room conversations. While some might be ridiculed for following Jesus, that generally seems to be the extent of persecution in America.
Followers of Jesus in the first century lived a very different story. To be identified with Jesus was to be in league with a man widely believed to be a deceiver and a blasphemer. Under Roman rule, simply stating “Jesus is Lord” invited harsh punishment and possible crucifixion, as the empire recognized only the emperor as Lord.
There was a serious cost to claiming to follow Jesus, but the Lord promised a reward for those who loved Him enough to pay it:
“Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).
In the early 1980s, I was visiting a hospital and held the door open for a nurse carrying a Bible on top of some folders. I said to her, “Great reading material.” With a winsome smile, she replied, “He’s my guy.”
Neither of us was facing crucifixion or persecution as we acknowledged the role of Jesus in our lives; nevertheless, we expressed our allegiance to the Savior. I believe one of the best choices we can make is to think of creative, positive, and attractive ways to make Jesus famous in our world.
Family Troubles and Jesus
Not every encounter is as positive as that brief moment the nurse and I shared entering the hospital. Two of my pastor friends went through divorces when their wives learned they were planning to enter full-time Christian ministry. I am sure these two men, and others like them, deeply connect with Jesus’s words:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.” (Matthew 10:34-36)
We are living through an era of culture wars that feels unprecedented in my lifetime. When people adopt a certain cultural position, they often receive pushback from family and friends, and some go so far as to call this persecution.
When engaging with others, I think it is vital that we stay true to the attitudes and actions of Jesus. We should ask ourselves if the particular cultural issue we are fighting over is truly central to His message. If it isn’t, wouldn’t we do better to focus on what Jesus actually did and taught?
I wish I could bottle the winsome, Christ-like atmosphere that the nurse I fleetingly met all those years ago carried with her. How wonderful it would be to spread that kind of joy and love around. A loving, joyful attitude is infinitely more attractive than what we currently see in our culture war issues. My suggestion is that we simply ask ourselves, “What is the most loving thing I can do in any given situation?”
Lost and Found
It doesn’t matter which side of America’s culture war you are on; the negativity and contentious spirit are driven by a need to be right. It is ironic that people on both sides often feel persecuted by the other, yet seem completely ignorant of Jesus’s command to deny ourselves.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:37-39).
Jesus told His followers that their rights would be trampled upon. The way they were to prepare for that was by surrendering those rights to Jesus ahead of time. Imagine that! Giving up our rights to Jesus is the best path to victory over persecution.
I’m sure you are familiar with the expression, “He’s all about himself.” People who are entirely self-absorbed make bad supervisors, spouses, and friends.
When we follow Jesus’s command to lose ourselves, not only are we better equipped to handle persecution, but we also become people who reflect God’s love to everyone around us.
YouTube Discussion
If you would like to see a video presentation of this blog, you can find it on the Bob Spradling channel. Rudy Ross and Bruce Kirby will soon be joining me on the videos!
Real Voices 