Today’s Scripture Reading (March 26, 2018): 2 Timothy 3
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in “The Cost of Discipleship”
writes that “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Bonhoeffer was executed during World War II; it was his
cost of discipleship. But his words sound different in a society that seems to want
to follow Christ for the benefits and tends to overlook
the cost often. Of course, it is not just Bonhoeffer’s words that sound
different. In “Tortured for Christ” Richard Wurmbrand tells of the cost for
preaching in the Communist prison camps. Wurmbrand had declared that
Christianity and Communism were incompatible, a crime that would find him
sentenced to twenty-five years in the labor camps. (He would serve eight and a
half years of his sentence.) In prison, the preaching of the Gospel of Christ was outlawed. Anyone who was found preaching
would be given a severe beating. For Wurmbrand
and several others, that beating was simply the cost of doing what God had called
them to do. And so they preached, and then submitted themselves for their
punishment. For Wurmbrand, the cost of following Christ during those eight and
a half years was something that he would carry with him for the rest of his
life. He carried the scars of the beating and torture until the day that he
died. I sometimes wonder what Bonhoeffer and Wurmbrand might think of the
reasons that we give for not preaching Jesus, or even mentioning his name, in
our workplaces and societal gathering spots.
Paul understood. He writes to Timothy that every
Christian should expect persecution. Often in our society, some outside of our
faith refer to our belief in God as a crutch indicating that we are weak if we
need to rely on such an outdated faith. But the reality is that it takes incredible strength to be a Christian. Being a
Christian often means separating ourselves from issues and political groups
because their aims to not match the purposes to which our God has called us. We
are committed to living a lifestyle that
is not easy to live. We cannot be warmongers because we have been called to be
peacemakers. We do not support any retributive justice because we have been called to a ministry of reconciliation. As
the world calls us to be bigots, we bravely support the equality of all people,
regardless of age, gender, race, limitations or even sexual preference. In the
face of hate, we must stand up and love.
None of these things are easy. All of them require a
strength that is much deeper than that which we possess. But we have been
called. And, with God’s strength added to
ours, we will make a difference in this world. Persecution for a godly reason
will always be welcomed. It is our badge
of honor. And even in the face of that persecution, we will demand that this world be rebuilt
into a better place, a place of love, mercy, and
peace.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 4
No comments:
Post a Comment