Dear Friends
At the beginning of March, Sue and I attended a Christian leadership conference in Harrogate. It was good to have the opportunity to be spiritually nourished. The sessions were both stimulating and challenging, and we returned with much food for thought.
One of the speakers had lived for around 20 years in Burundi, including living for several years in the midst of a violent and brutal civil war, during which an estimated 300,000 people were killed. Despite the tremendously tough circumstances which the country faced, many have become followers of Christ (it is interesting that much of the Church growth which is currently taking place around the world is happening in places where Christians face great difficulties in living out their faith).
Having lived in Burundi for so many years, he knew what it meant to be willing to risk one’s life for the sake of the gospel. He had told his wife-to-be that if she married him, she would need to be prepared to be a young widow. Having now returned to live in the UK, where it is often relatively easy to be a follower of Christ, he prays daily that he will not lose the cutting edge to his faith.
He told a story of a young Iranian Christian couple. For many Christians, living in a country such as Iran can mean facing hardship and persecution. This particular couple managed to be accepted as asylum seekers in the USA, where they thought that living out their lives as Christians would be much easier. However, after a time the wife said that she felt that they should return to Iran. The husband was surprised by this and wondered why his wife had come to such a conclusion. She told him that while they were in Iran and facing such pressure as Christians, their faith was strong, but that now they were in the West, where much of the Church seemed to be asleep, their faith was in danger of becoming flabby and weak.
So, what does that mean for us? Does it mean that we should actively seek to be persecuted? Clearly not. But we do need to be aware of Paul’s words to Timothy (2 Timothy 3.12), ‘all who choose to live passionately and faithfully as worshippers of Jesus, the Anointed One, will also experience persecution.’ If, in our daily lives as Christians, we never face opposition or pressure to conform, then maybe we need to think about whether we really are living as true disciples of Jesus!
With love,
Steve
At the beginning of March, Sue and I attended a Christian leadership conference in Harrogate. It was good to have the opportunity to be spiritually nourished. The sessions were both stimulating and challenging, and we returned with much food for thought.
One of the speakers had lived for around 20 years in Burundi, including living for several years in the midst of a violent and brutal civil war, during which an estimated 300,000 people were killed. Despite the tremendously tough circumstances which the country faced, many have become followers of Christ (it is interesting that much of the Church growth which is currently taking place around the world is happening in places where Christians face great difficulties in living out their faith).
Having lived in Burundi for so many years, he knew what it meant to be willing to risk one’s life for the sake of the gospel. He had told his wife-to-be that if she married him, she would need to be prepared to be a young widow. Having now returned to live in the UK, where it is often relatively easy to be a follower of Christ, he prays daily that he will not lose the cutting edge to his faith.
He told a story of a young Iranian Christian couple. For many Christians, living in a country such as Iran can mean facing hardship and persecution. This particular couple managed to be accepted as asylum seekers in the USA, where they thought that living out their lives as Christians would be much easier. However, after a time the wife said that she felt that they should return to Iran. The husband was surprised by this and wondered why his wife had come to such a conclusion. She told him that while they were in Iran and facing such pressure as Christians, their faith was strong, but that now they were in the West, where much of the Church seemed to be asleep, their faith was in danger of becoming flabby and weak.
So, what does that mean for us? Does it mean that we should actively seek to be persecuted? Clearly not. But we do need to be aware of Paul’s words to Timothy (2 Timothy 3.12), ‘all who choose to live passionately and faithfully as worshippers of Jesus, the Anointed One, will also experience persecution.’ If, in our daily lives as Christians, we never face opposition or pressure to conform, then maybe we need to think about whether we really are living as true disciples of Jesus!
With love,
Steve
