Daily Archive

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded” ( Hebrews 10:32-35).

Deliberately reread this passage. Absorb its every fact and inference. What we have just read, and hopefully digested, is radical and its implications are just as radical for the true contemporary follower of Jesus. Does it make you feel a little uneasy? Actually, I pray that it makes us all feel a little queasy.  After all, don’t we all need something to rattle our spiritual cage and thrust us from the routine of what we often call “being a Christian” in America?

Does the title to this blog make you uncomfortable? I hope it does – that is the intention. It makes me feel uneasy, too. Yet, I unequivocally believe that American Christians need to be just that! This passage describes a faith so radical and sacrificial that it stands diametrically opposed to what most Western professors of Christ consider the norm in following Jesus. The American dream for modern confessional Christians doesn’t look vastly different from a self-serving, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, and comfort-seeking pagan world. When taken to heart this description of surrender should jolt us out of our lethargy and complacency. This is what it meant to follow Jesus in the early church. And I believe it means the same thing today.

Although we will probably not hear this passage preached from many pulpits (and I dare say not be broached by typical televangelists) it captures the essence of the radical nature of Christ-projecting sacrificial living. What the writer espouses is that those who have received the light of the truth of Jesus are transformed in such a startling way that they are faithful (“stand their ground”) in the battle that ensues while following Jesus. This war includes insult, persecution, and standing with those who are. This battle means that we sympathize with the imprisoned. It may also mean the joyful confiscation of our earthly possessions. Does the American Christian culture get that?  Do you and I get that? The apostles certainly did when we consider that Luke stated, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41).

Why such extreme devotion to the name, kingdom, and cause of their great Savior? Because they saw they saw themselves merely as warrior pilgrims whose true home was in the heavenly realm. I rarely read (or like) bumper stickers but one recently caught my eye. “I AM AN ALIEN” it said (which casued me to peer suspiciously at the driver). But in smaller letters it included, “This world is not my home”. Such an attitude is why Paul rejoices that his life was spent for the cause of Christ – “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you” (Philippians 2:17). Again we see that sacrifice for Christ engenders joy.

Granted, American Christians do not typically face the persecution our international brethren often face. But, even though our culture doesn’t yet have such a hostile environment, I’m accosted by the question: when did I ever stand so strongly for the truth and my Lord that I exposed myself to suffering, ridicule, and loss? Or am I just busy being all cozy in my own comfortable church “womb” and tied to the umbilical cord of this world’s stuff – reputation and possessions. Would I be willing, when the situation presents itself, to stand as courageously as those described by the inspired writer of Hebrews? In an even simpler vein, am I really willing, with little chance for truly harsh repercussions (much less taking delight in the plundering of my property), to share my faith with those I know are not believers?

But this passage also encourages us with a promise for those who live a radically sacrificial life that images forth the model of Jesus. It is a guaranteed and greater reward than this world (and its stuff) can ever furnish - Jesus Himself and our ultimate home with Him. The great London preacher of the 19^th century poignantly articulated it this way:

“The Christian will be sure to make enemies. It will be one of his objects to make none; but if to do the right, and to believe the true, should cause him to lose every earthly friend, he will count it but a small loss, since his great Friend in heaven will be yet more friendly, and reveal himself to him more graciously than ever” and “You must bear the cross, or you shall never wear the crown; you must wade through the mire, or you shall never walk the golden pavement. Cheer up, then, poor Christian!” – C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening.