1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.(NIV)
Peter’s first letter was written at a time when Christians were being persecuted throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity was a fledgling faith and because it was beginning to spread all over the Mediterranean, civil and religious authorities sought to target it and crush it out of all existence.
Peter’s letters were written during the persecutions of Nero, the infamous emperor who reputedly fiddled while Rome burned. Christians were arrested and publicly executed. Even Peter, the Big Fisherman, was eventually crucified during these persecutions. His letters were important because they contained warnings of what Christians were going to experience and what the faithful community had to endure.
In our cozy Western society, Christians are more often ignored as opposed to being persecuted. But in other places throughout the world, followers of Christ are being hunted down and harmed, arrested, tortured, and executed. Yesterday, our Sunday School class was watching a video clip about a Pakistani girl who was assaulted and raped for being a Christian. Despite her unjust beatings and painful victimization, Safeena still holds tenaciously to her faith. She understands what it means to really suffer as a Christian. She knows what it is like to stand firm in the faith.
For most of us, we are going to be busy this week attending to our own homes, work, and life. Persecution is not something that we will experience, however our spirits will undergo satanic attacks and we will be faced with a plethora of temptations. For the sake of Christ, and for our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters around the world, we need to be strong, resolute, and faithful. If we are going to continue making a difference in our communities and societies, then we’ve got to start taking our faith seriously. It will require a revival of faith in our hearts and a focused application of Christian beliefs in our homes. In order to help Christians in other lands, we will have to change the world. We change the world a small bit at a time at a time – and that change begins with us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we hardly ever suffer for our faith and we often forget the price that other people pay to witness effectively as Christians in communities throughout the world. Help us to understand that this is not a game or a pastime. Keep us from diminishing Your words, or trivializing Your ways through our indifference and inaction. By the power of Your Holy Name, we make these prayers. Amen.
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