Ok, its time for me to come clean - I am a wimp!
When I was in first grade, I cried on the playground when two other boys told me I couldn't play Cops and Robbers with them.
I don't like pain - I can handle it, but I don't like it.
I'm not huge on change - I prefer to be comfortable rather than feeling like I'm constantly having to adapt to a changing environment.
I have an irrational fear of being thrown into a pool while wearing a sweater - strange I know, but its one of my nightmares!
And, to get to what sparked this thought process, I have a tendency to think that when I have a bad day at work that I am "suffering for Christ." When I read verses like this 1 Peter 4:12 - "Dear friends don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you" - I think I can identify with the suffering that Peter is writing about.
However, Peter was telling them not to be surprised that Christians were being killed everyday. He was telling them not to be surprised when the heads of the martyrs were placed on stakes outside the city walls.
What I don't think he was telling them was to not be surprised when they face fiery trials, such as an annoying meeting at work or leadership who, at times, just don't seem to understand the big picture. I'm not a Biblical scholar, but I do feel pretty confident in saying that I don't think that's what Peter was referring to. Don't get me wrong, I think God cares about us even through annoying meetings and being thrown in a pool with a sweater on, but neither of these compares with the suffering Peter was explaining.
After a rough meeting this morning, my day was really put into perspective when I read an article in Relevant Magazine that was written by the pastor of St. George's Church in Baghdad, Iraq. (I'm not sure if I could fit any more links into one sentence.)
In the past year, this church of 3,700 members has seen 93 of its brothers and sisters martyred. That's almost 3% of its congregation who is no longer attending because they have lost their lives for the name of Christ!
In the month of December alone, a total of around 100 Iraqi Christians were killed.
St. George's has bomb barricades and armed guards who surround the church to keep it from being destroyed, and to keep its congregation and pastor from being killed.
I think the Iraqi Christians can identify very strongly with what Paul writes in Romans 8:36 - "As it is written, 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'" Yet, our brothers and sisters in Iraq are not shy about their faith. Many openly wear a cross around their neck. All of them are subject to a tax simply because they are not Muslim. All who wish to attend worship services must do so on a work day, as Sunday is not a traditional day off work in the Muslim world. Needless to say, it's very difficult for Christ-followers in Iraq to just "blend in."
The pastor of St. George's describes their willingness to stand for Christ this way: "In the midst of the difficulties we know without doubt our God is the only way..."
This sounds very familiar to what another writer said about facing very real, life threatening persecution for following Christ: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed." (Romans 8:18 - 19)
In Iraq, the children of God are not only revealed, but they are taking a stand. They have taken up their crosses daily. They are not surprised at the fiery trials they are going through. Rather, they fully understand that their present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in them.
So as I read that article this morning, I decided it was time to come clean - I am a wimp! I am truly humbled by seeing what our brothers and sisters are facing.
Yet I am encouraged by the fact that the same promises that hold true for the Christ-followers who suffer in His name daily hold true for me as well. For whatever reason, God has called us among His prized possessions. Even in our weakness, strength becomes evident as we place our full trust in Him. Even at the core of who I am - the wimpy, sweater-in-pool-hating man - God sees the potential for greatness and has called me His child.
And that gives rise to a hope that does not disappoint!
