A Godly Life (2 Timothy 3:12)
I wish the captioned verse was not in the bible. In the western world disciples of Christ are rarely persecuted for living out their faith in Christ. For a long time Christians and the church in the west has been viewed with favor (or at worst tolerated) by governing authorities. This environment, free from persecution, has lulled us into assuming that being a disciple of Jesus equates to peace and prosperity. Or as some have put it - health and wealth.
It could be said we live out our Christian lives according to our own whims and agendas. Two of the casualties when we pursue our own personal agendas, instead of Christ's agenda, are evangelism and discipleship. Both these activities require us to move out of our comfort zones and they put us on the front line of the Kingdom of Light confronting the darkness. Both of these activities focus our attention on Jesus and his Kingdom agenda rather than our own self-serving agendas.
Discipleship is hard work and it is not very appealing to engage in discipleship when being a disciple-maker means facing persecution and suffering. As I reread our captioned verse I see no loopholes. It is a straightforward statement about what to expect when we determine to focus on Christ's agenda.
From the Apostles down through the ages those who have sought to advance the Kingdom of Christ have faced persecution. Tertullian an early church leader coined the phrase: "the blood of the martyrs is he seed of the church". He wrote to the Roman government saying:
“We are not a new philosophy but a divine revelation. That’s why you can’t just exterminate us; the more you kill the more we are. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
So far my desire to make disciples across the street and around the world has not resulted in personal persecution, but some of the people I work with do face persecution for being disciple-makers. Maybe it is time to step up and be willing to do whatever it takes to make disciples as Jesus invited us to do.
Today I have recommitted my life to be a disciple-maker even if it means facing persecution for doing so. I hope you will join me in this commitment. This is our time. Let's engage to make sure we are doing our part in our day to fulfil the Great Commission which calls for making disciples everywhere.