The unbelieving world does not understand the reality of what Jesus did on the cross two thousand years ago. But when you bear hardship and persecution with grace – and you turn the other cheek – the world sees Jesus and who he really is. Do not allow a hostile culture to silence you. Stand strong for Jesus!
Persecution is, for many, becoming more real every day.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and although persecution in our society is more subtle than, let’s say, in China or the Middle East where Christians are losing their lives, in our current culture we are feeling the increasingly negative impact of living for Christ. I’m thinking of my 82-year-old friend Janice who lives in an assisted living center. A few months ago during the holidays, she put a banner on her front door. It was a small and very simple flannel graph showing the three wise men following the star of Bethlehem. And on the banner it read, “We Worship Him!” Now everyone else up and down the hallways had decorations on their doors, too. The assisted living center allows for that. But everyone else’s decorations were either wreaths or banners showing Santa Claus or reindeer, snowmen. Janice’s was the only one on her hallway that pointed to the real reason for Christmas. Well, that week she sent me a snapshot she had taken of a note that someone tucked under the banner of the three wise men on her door. It read, “This is not nice.” After that, there was a frowny face. And the person did not even sign his or her name.
Thankfully, Janice was not unnerved or intimidated by this. She’s got a lot of spunk, and she sees the people in her assisted living center as friends with whom she can share the Gospel. For her, it’s a kind of mission field. But when I saw that mean note, I thought about those who would have been intimidated or shamed into silence. Given the cold shoulder from then on out at meal gatherings. As I said, in our culture, there is a negative impact if you live for Christ.
It’s what Colossians 1:24 is all about. Paul says: “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.”
Now Paul is stating that there is something lacking as it concerns Jesus and his sufferings. Something needs to be finished, and you and I are the ones to do it. You see, Jesus is not around to be beaten up on anymore, but we are. And we bear in our body the bruising and battering intended for Christ. What’s more, we bear it in a godly manner. Jesus may not be here in the flesh right now to do this, but we are. We are the walking billboards of his finished work. We take the punches on the chin from the world to show that the cheek can be turned, the cross can be carried, the burden can be borne, the thorn can be accepted, the temptation can be opposed, and the wicked can be loved.
People don’t know the reality of what the Lord did two thousand years ago; they only know it when they see him show up through your life. And I think that’s why that anonymous person took a nasty aim at my friend Janice. But Janice is all the stronger for it and more resolved than ever to be a walking billboard for Christ’s finished work. It’s something to remember the next time you are shunned at coffee break, or not invited to that gathering, or ignored by your neighbor. See it as your chance to fill up in your flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions. People cannot give Jesus the cold shoulder anymore, but they can give it to you. So take it on the chin, and do it with a smile. Do it for the world’s sake. Do it for the sake of your Christian friends. But most of all, do it for Jesus Christ. That’s your good word today from joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends