The Holy Bible says that God instructed ancient Israel to kill all men, women, children, and sometimes animals of certain towns in accordance with His Promise to Abraham (Deuteronomy 20:17). Jesus, the Prince of Peace Himself, told His disciples that He in fact did not come to bring peace to earth but to bring a sword (Matthew 10:34), which would imply the direct opposite of peace. Strange talk from the two figures most tag as being all-loving, and for the young Christian or the person who just acknowledges God's existence, this can be extremely confusing. To better understand this, it's key to investigate the Scriptures thoroughly to understand the intent of God. Only then, we find that the Almighty never meant for violence to play a roll in the earth. Yet once the Fall explained in Genesis 3 (the event that allowed sin to live in the world), violence became almost a necessary evil. Even more morbid is the fact that millions of people would and do suffer death, sometimes violently, to ultimately be with God or to influence others to do so.
The 1st century Christian church, the Crusades in the mid-1500s, the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, and today's sporadic occurrences in several Middle East nations attest to this. But don't forget about the land of the free and the home of the brave...as even here people are dying to be Christian. This possibly was the case in Mechanicsville, where 17-year-old Jyreffe Clark, who was allegedly gunned down by the hands of friends while recording some Christian hip-hop tracks. Without too many details offered I speculate the possibility of ministry going on around the time of his murder; as the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that he was found clutching his Bible. A thought I had when reading this centered on the outrage and jealously in his "friends" that may have provoked this incident, but clearly the Word was there--which says a lot about this young man. It also marks an ignored piece of Christianity that I believe will grow as years pass.
Generally, in America we are free from violence related to Christian faith. However, it is extremely dangerous if we neglect the notion that the possibility exists. I say this not to conjure up ideas of Christians taking militant stances against any person or group of people, but to bring light to the reality of martyrs. More specifically, for Believers to not become terrified and discouraged when these things happen, as well as to know the enemy has no rules when it comes to his attempt to discredit a persons' belief.
A fact: the Church will not escape persecution until the return of Jesus Christ. We assume this 'persecution' in a figurative sense when we read the stories in Acts--but there is a literal component as well. We see in Matthew 10:39 Jesus speaking on both of these aspects. Today, what's mostly pulled out of this scripture is the Messiah saying that one must be willing to lose his "life", or lifestyle, in order to find his true "life". While this is certainly true, we must also note that Jesus is speaking to a group of ethnically outcasted people under the rule of the Roman Empire; and any action that does not acknowledge Caesar as king (Christians were told to see Christ as king) is treason and grounds for execution. Here, a person following Jesus took on the risk of losing his or her natural life, and I believe Jesus was preparing those who were to kill off their flesh and those who would be martyred. This is critical as because of the notion outlined in Luke 17:36; and for many of you, due to the choices made with your spiritual life, being a Christian may require your natural life in the future.
Consistently pray for the missionaries, the street ministers, and the youth who have decided to be on the battlefield for the Lord...literally.
Peace
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