God's PR plan- Acts 14:22

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Jeremiah was beaten and mocked. Elijah was threatened and hunted. James was imprisoned and beheaded. Peter was whipped and imprisoned. Paul was stalked, beaten, whipped, imprisoned, slandered, snake-bitten, and shipwrecked. Jesus was ridiculed, mocked, beaten, and crucified. These are just the names that come immediately to mind. If we really studied, we could probably come up with an unending list of people who went through tribulations...serious tribulations...because of their faith in and obedience to God.

The context of this verse in Acts is immediately following a ridiculous swing in the mob mentality that saw the people of Lystra and Derbe trying to worship Paul and Barnabas on one day following a miraculous healing and then stoning Paul and dragging him out of the city thinking he was dead the next! (Acts 14) And yet we seem to think that we are being treated unfairly compared to God's people throughout history when courts rule against us, media mocks us, or laws are passed that contradict our values.

Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for our religious freedom. I pray that we will not lose it. But I do pray that we will lose our sense of entitlement about it. Let me explain what I mean about that by sharing a conversation I overheard.

I am in nursing school right now and it has put me in contexts and conversations that I have never had the privilege to be in before. I've been a minister for the past 9 years, and you wouldn't believe how differently people act around ministers! Well...maybe you would. I'm just finding out! I'm finding out because for the first time in my adult life, I am not being introduced as "this is our youth minister." On one particular day, I was in a hospital observing surgeries for my clinical assignment. No one there knew me from Adam, much less knew that I am a minister. When the OR nurses were standing around the desk waiting for the next surgery, a couple of them began to talk about their church and another said that she wanted to find a church...but she didn't want to be bothered and she didn't want to have to do anything! She was very emphatic about that. To my astonishment, the other two began describing their congregation in a way to convince her to come check it out. All three of these women had used less than wholesome language throughout the day and had joked about several things that made me blush. And the biggest selling point in trying to bring someone to a lifestyle of following Jesus was that you could slip in and out and enjoy a lively and spirited service with minimal interaction with people.

How different is that style of recruitment into the body of Christ compared to Jesus saying, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34)!!??

I'm not saying we should go looking for persecution. I'm not saying we should intentionally antagonize people about their sin in a way that brings their wrath. I'm not even saying that we should feel guilty if we are not being persecuted the way most of the followers of God throughout history have been persecuted. What I am saying, is that Jesus described the road to heaven as narrow and difficult and said few would find it compared to the broad and easy way that leads to destruction. He said there would be denial and a cross involved in following him. His earliest followers understood that very well. They, like Paul, echoed that truth in places like Acts 14:22. Maybe we do a disservice by trying to make the Way seem easier than it is. All of our problems will not go away in Christ. But we will have Christ in us through our problems. No we do not earn our way to the kingdom of heaven and that is why it is difficult. We are given free entrance into the kingdom of heaven through the blood of Christ, but that is when the battle begins! 

May we start rejoicing in our tribulations as the early Christians did. May we recognize that while God's grace is free, the way is still filled with denial and with difficulties. But may we realize that it is infinitely worth it!