This week, that was us. Except that I reacted poorly and my faith took a brief but deep hit. Whether it was frustration or pride, I got very angry that things were not working out like they should. I felt lied to and cheated by not having the funds available when they were needed. I was even angry at God for allowing us to go through this type of situation yet again. Had He forgotten us?
He hadn't. While the funds are still not in order, God still used the situation to reassure me. We were blessed by others to the point where I was overwhelmed. God let me know, once again, that He is watching out for us. It seems I must learn this lesson repeatedly. It's easy to give to others. It is sometimes much harder to accept from others. It humbles you. People, other Christians, hearing of a need, sometimes second or third hand, didn't hesitate to give to help a struggling homeschooling family.
Then, My oldest daughter spent part of her afternoon texting an acquaintance back and forth. He's an atheist. He would text my daughter asking questions about the Bible. However, after she would answer them, he would counter her with a criticism or a put down. Eventually, I realized that this young man wasn't trying to investigate Christianity or even hear my daughter's side. He simply wanted to trash her and her faith. Arguing any point was mute because, even if she made a valid point, his reaction was not to counter it but to put her down.
Then, just a few minutes ago, I was reading through some other blogs. Some of the comments on one about monitoring what your children watch on television threw me for a loop. It seems that even a blog entry written for and geared to Christian parents that want to monitor what their children are watching on television is up for the most horrible, hateful comments. Why? What started about one thing ended up with some comments that trashed the woman for homeschooling, being a Christian, believing the Bible, and raising her children in the Christian faith.
Yes, we have an enemy. That enemy hates us, as Christians...and he hates mankind because we are made in God's image. He will use our finances, our beliefs, our freedoms, our technology, our feelings, and our parenting against us. He will take what we feel is responsible and godly and right and try to twist it.
I had to realize and remember that much of the world sees Christians very different than we see ourselves. To many in the world, we are narrow-minded bigots and hypocrites that don't want them to be free to do what they want (sin). I thought back to before I was saved, and I can say that there were times I felt that way a little. I was blessed because, even when I was mixed up in my beliefs, I had a very sweet little Christian grandma that had given me an example of true Christianity. She wasn't perfect, but she was wonderful and she LOVED Jesus.
I know that, according to the Bible, our persecution will get worse. I am saddened that to be a Christian is no longer a noble thing, a striven for thing in our society today. I know that, compared to many places in the world, we currently have wonderful freedom. I can go to church. I can read my Bible. I can worship God. I can put a nativity scene in my front yard. I can talk openly about Jesus. I can praise Jesus over the internet. So far, those rights have not been taken away. How much time is there to keep these rights?
The comments I read were mean, hateful, and some were even vile. Yet I didn't see the Christians responding in the same way. They stated their beliefs calmly. They didn't resort to name calling. They didn't jeer the other person. The Christian responses didn't call anyone bad parents. When you read these things, it is shocking to realize that people actually hold such anger and hatred toward Christ and his followers, despite not even knowing us personally and, in many cases, not knowing anything about Jesus. Then I remember that we have an enemy that is full of this vile hatred, and celebrates when things like this get us down and take our eyes off of Christ. He wants us destroyed.
I just read in Philippians earlier today about how Paul, in chains, knew that God used his persecution to help spread the gospel. I've been reading about Corrie Ten Boom recently. She led many women to Christ while imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. Persecution is what most of us Christians here in America have not seen on the deep level that exists around the world. We feel like we are going through it because we see our rights slowly being stripped away. We are starting to feel a touch of warmth of the heat of persecution when we are called names because of our faith, when laws are passed making a mockery of what we hold dear, when our rights as parents to give our children a Christian education is challenged because many believe the state should decide the education of our kids. That warmth is growing, getting hotter, slowly. I wonder if Christians truly know that that heat will soon be blistering, or if the heat is being turned up so slowly that they don't even realize they are or soon will be in trouble.
The irony is that persecution spreads the Gospel. It spread the Gospel in Biblical times. It spread the Gospel in communist countries. It is spreading the Gospel right now in countries where professing to be a Christian can and will get a person tortured, jailed, or killed. Persecution will spread the Gospel everywhere. God will use persecution to reach into people's hearts. People are going to want to know and understand why Christians believe the way they do when they are treated poorly and criticized for their beliefs. That investigation will lead to a living Christ that many will fall in love with and surrender their lives to.
I am far from being joyful when I encounter trials. Even though I know God has a plan and a purpose, my first instinct is to react, and my reactions are very emotionally based. When there isn't funds I was counting on for food, when my daughter is criticized for her faith, when I read hateful and malicious comments to another homeschooling Christian mom; all these things bring about feelings of anger or frustration or hurt. I should go immediately to my knees. Instead, I often want to argue my point, my cause, my views. I want to lean on my own understanding before I trust God and lean on Him.
God gave me a wake up call today. He showed me His love, His grace, and His patience. He also showed me that, for true Christians, life is not going to be easy. We are going to have unbelievable challenges. He will be with us through all of them, but they will happen. We will endure things for our faith. We will need to be solid in Christ.
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