In Luke 14, Jesus taught His disciples that following Him comes at a price--sometimes it is the price of relationships (14:26), other times it costs horrible suffering (14:27), and yet other times it entails the loss of everything (14:33). Christ does not promise a life of comfort and convenience; on the contrary, He promises a life much like His own: one of sacrifice, service, and suffering.
It has always been costly to identify with Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified, buried, and resurrected Son of God. Though the price has varied from region to region and from generation to generation, examples can be found in Scripture, history, as well as the present.
The Bible is clear that entering into a relationship by faith with Jesus Christ is absolutely free, but continuing in ever-growing fellowship with Him is painfully expensive. This is due, in part, to the mission He has given to each and every disciple to "make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:20). This world is still under the sway of God's archenemy, Satan. He holds a tight grasp on the souls of men and women, boys and girls of every ethnicity, culture, and language. So, when disciples of Jesus Christ run into the midst of spiritual darkness carrying the glorious light of the gospel, those who are "enemies of he cross of Christ" (Philippians 3:18), reject, resist, and revile Jesus and those representing Him.
Persecution caused many of the early disciples to flee, leaving jobs, homes, and family and friends behind. Some paid with their freedom, others with blood and tears, and yet others with their very lives. Paul, once one of the church's greatest persecutors, came to be one of its greatest proponents. Yet this came at a great price--
"... In labors more
abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths
often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus
one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three
times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of
robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the
Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in
perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in
weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
often, in cold and nakedness-- besides the other things, what
comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches." (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)
History joins Scripture in offering examples of the cost of following Jesus. It is has been widely reported that the war in Afghanistan, which began in October 2001 and continues to this day, costs 300 million dollars per day! I'm no mathematician, but that adds up to billions, with flirtation with a trillion dollars on the horizon. As of October 14, 2013, 3,390 Coalition soldiers have died. Of course, the lives of men and women far outweighs the monetary costs. With no intention of minimizing this price tag, this is just one war, in just one region of the world, in just one generation (a mere 12 years out of 2,000 plus years of church history). This war on terror, though grossly expensive, does not even begin to compare with the costs in the war for souls.
In 2011, a research report was published, Christian Number-Crunching, estimating that in this century's first decade,a time roughly equivalent to the Afghan war, there were an average 270 Christians martyred every 24 hours, leading to approximately one million Christian deaths at the hands of others. That is 996,610 more lives lost on the religious/spiritual battlefield than those lost upon the soil of Afghanistan. As it should, the death of a single U.S. soldier garners media attention. Imagine if those numbers reached the thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands. Yet little is said about disciples of Jesus Christ who lose their lives throughout the world.
Rage against Christians worldwide is swelling. Recently, Egypt has seen the worst violence against Christians in seven centuries. In September 2013, 81 people gathered for worship on the Lord's Day were killed In Peshawar, Pakistan. Nigeria has seen hundreds of Christians killed this year alone. American pastor, Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran for over a year now. A 30-something year-old woman named Wehazit Debesai died last week in a Eritrean prison. These are not nameless, faceless victims, but brothers and sisters who are following Jesus no matter the cost.
I am not suggesting that the answer is more media coverage. Hardly. I'm also not pinning my hopes on the actions of political leaders in Washington, D.C. Crazy, I'm not. I'm not even looking for public outcry. I am, however, seeking to do three things:
Rage against Christians worldwide is swelling. Recently, Egypt has seen the worst violence against Christians in seven centuries. In September 2013, 81 people gathered for worship on the Lord's Day were killed In Peshawar, Pakistan. Nigeria has seen hundreds of Christians killed this year alone. American pastor, Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran for over a year now. A 30-something year-old woman named Wehazit Debesai died last week in a Eritrean prison. These are not nameless, faceless victims, but brothers and sisters who are following Jesus no matter the cost.
I am not suggesting that the answer is more media coverage. Hardly. I'm also not pinning my hopes on the actions of political leaders in Washington, D.C. Crazy, I'm not. I'm not even looking for public outcry. I am, however, seeking to do three things:
- Pray for fellow brothers and sisters who are suffering greatly for Jesus' sake
- Proclaim Jesus as Lord to the multitudes still in rebellion against His authority
- Remain on the "victorious, overwhelming side" of the story of persecution, rather than the "fearful, physical side" of the story
Some final thoughts in the next post.
