Daring to be Different
2 Timothy 3:12,13 Everyone who wants to live showing true devotion to God in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. People who are evil and cheat others will become worse and worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.
Jesus promised His disciples many things. One of those promises that we can stand on with shouts of praise and hallelujah is that if they persecuted Him (which they did) they’re also going to persecute us.
Now there’s a cheery thought, amen? But it’s true, isn’t it? In places like where I live, Christians have had it pretty easy for a good many years. In other places, they’ve been severely persecuted. Wherever you live, whatever your situation, persecution is either here or it’s just around the corner.
And as much as this rising tide of persecution comes as a shock to those who’ve had it easy up to this point, it’s nothing new. Writes the wise old Apostle Paul to his ministry protégé Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:12,13 Everyone who wants to live showing true devotion to God in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. People who are evil and cheat others will become worse and worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.
Who are those who’ll be persecuted? Everyone who wants to live showing true devotion to God in Christ Jesus.
So the easiest way to avoid persecution, it would seem, is to stop showing that true devotion to Christ; simply to blend in and become part of the crowd. After all, I can just believe in Jesus in private and look like everyone else in public – the perfect solution for avoiding persecution.
But as Charles Spurgeon once said: It will be a sad day for the church and for the world when there is no distinction between the children of God and those of this world.
You are the light of the world. Stop trying to blend in.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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