Can This Be Done?

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You have heard that it was said,

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.

When someone strikes you on your right cheek,

turn the other one to him as well.

It is a time of trouble for the Church. The Church is surrounded on all sides by those that wish her harm. In the Middle East, the very cradle of the Christian Faith we have seen more blood spilled since the time of the first Christians. Terrorists have killed innocent men, women, and children because the will not betray the Son of God. In our own country, our government has in recent time trampled upon the religious rights of its citizens, attempting to force even religious orders to provide contraception and abortion as part of the benefits that they provide their employees. Temporarily, the pressure has been removed because of the change of regime that came about this last January. Certainly, the amount of discrimination that is occurring against Christians in this country cannot be compared with that which is happening in the East. 

People in the East are willing to die rather than to forsake their Christian beliefs.  It has always been so in the Christian Church. Today, you can go on YouTube and easily find things that are pro-church and anti-church. On other places on the web, you can view evil men killing believers just because they are believers. What is it about this Jesus that makes people loyal unto death?  This is not a new thing, From the first century, Christians went to their deaths out of their love for Jesus and one another. The love the Christians had for one another was what attracted people to their group.  It was a different way of living in a culture that was cruel and hateful.  

I believe that inside of us all there is a desire to love and be loved. Through the generations, this desire has remained and we spend our time looking for what in most civilizations is lacking.  For the most part, we spend our lives being hunters and gatherers.  We reach out for the tings that we believe will make us happy.  Included on this list of things are food and shelter. I do not think that it is natural for a human being to say, "I now have enough."  I remember reading a story in high school about a man who visits a land where the natives will give him all of the lands that he can walk over in a twenty-four hour period.  There is just one rule.  He had to make it back to the starting position or he would get nothing. The man begins his walk and he notices how beautiful the land was. He walked over a huge portion of flat land that would be perfect for farming. He walked around a beautiful lake that would supply all of the fish he needed. He walked this way and he walked that way.  Time was running short he looked at his watch, he had to get back to the starting line.  He began to run.  Those hills that just yesterday which allowed him such breath-taking views of what was his now caused his legs to tire.  Minutes to go he sped up and just yards from the goal, he fell down dead.  The natives laughed and buried him where he lay.  In the end, the man claimed eighteen square feet of land, six feet down and three feet across. 

For the Christians, there was the point when they said that they had enough.  That point came when the love of Christ and their brothers and sisters filled up their hearts.  They shared with one another and they smiled and life became joyful.  This joyfulness was both a blessing and a curse.  For the world does not like to see what they do not understand.  What cannot be understood must be destroyed so that the normal way of hate and greed can be restored.  Yet, many were attracted to the Christian way because they saw it as the ultimate good and could change what was a hard life into what would become a joyful life as burdens were shared and people were loved for who they were and not what they could do for you. 

In the Eastern lands, the Islamic terrorists cannot understand the joy of these Christian people and so the will endeavor to destroy what they cannot understand. The Christians are not willing to give up the perfect joy of Christ for the misery of indentured servitude.  And so, they willingly accept death instead of betraying the One Who loves them. They know that their joy will be complete when they are with Jesus and while they do not look for martyrdom, they embrace it when it comes.  They do not die in vain.  Their example, their love for one another, will plant seeds in the desert and the seeds will grow and many of those whose lives are filled with hate for all things Christian will find themselves irresistibly drawn to the joy of Christ.  This is what happened in the first century and it is going to happen now. 

In America, our dry martyrdom cannot be compared to those who have given their lives for their belief in Christ.  But, we too will attract more believers if we stick to what Jesus has told us.  We are to turn the other cheek, we are to help carry other's burdens, we are to show love to our enemies and keep a holy joy in our heart.  It will not be easy for we run counter-culture to a people who seem to be in love with things that go against the law of God.  They confuse convenience with happiness and pleasure with joy.  Our example to them is that they can have so much more following Jesus than they can on their own.  

Today, I pray for the martyrs in the mid-East.  I thank God for them and for the example that they set for me.  I also pray that God moves His hand end brings to a conclusion the bloodshed in this part of the world.  I pray for our nation, that we take to heart the laws that God has given us so that we may have a happy life here and eternal life with Him later.  May we once again sing "God Bless America" and know that He will.