Yesterday Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love (which I highly recommend), spoke in chapel. I love when he speaks because every time I leave convicted, as odd as that may sound, forced to take a good look at my life and answer the questions to the challenges he placed before us.
Yesterday he told us a story about a video he had seen the weekend before that a friend had brought back from a recent trip to India. Upon watching it, he saw first hand the horrendous persecution Christians were facing. People were literally being beaten to death and lined up on the side of the road because they proclaimed Christ as their savior; pastors and missionaries had made the ultimate sacrifice without even questioning it twice. We stand tall and proclaim Christ here and now, vowing to die for Him if that moment presented itself in our lives; yet, we do this in an environment that is safe. Never have we faced that kind of persecution. He couldn't help but question everything he said he believed. He told us, "If I were there watching this happen, I'm not sure I would speak up. And that scared me!" And after that I know he wasn't the only one who was scared by this fact, knowing that it was probably true for a good number of us, myself included. We say we are "fans" of Jesus, living a life that glorifies Him, showing love towards others and being who God created us to be. But he stated that although these things aren't bad, we do them in such a way where we still look good. We try to avoid making waves in our communities, wanting to be loved and well-liked by others....much like the Pharisees and false prophets. But in Matthew 5 Jesus says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven." Those are the true fans of Jesus, those are the people in India who were murdered for their faith. Each day they follow His command and take up their cross daily to follow Him, and did so in the face of immense adversity. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
It was a challenge that made me uncomfortable, and like Francis Chan I questioned what I would do in that situation and thus questioned what I believed; but it only made the fact clearer that we aren't put here to be comfortable, and that's ok.
Faith without works is dead, and a lukewarm Christian will be "spat out." So the challenge before me is one of living out this faith, becoming a true fan of Christ. Memorizing verses and knowing the historical context of the Bible can be great, but by itself it won't get me very far. It is and will be a constant struggle, I know I'll stumble many times, but thank goodness our God is gracious and His mercies are anew each day! :) As far as I may stray, as much as I may question, and as lost and weak as I may feel at times, He's always right there.
So my prayer today, as I continue to absorb the message that Francis Chan shared, is that I would never settle and become lazy, content with where I am in my faith. Rather, that it would become a constant and continual journey that would challenge me and foster growth in every aspect of my life--from my relationship with Christ to my relationships with others, from the calling for change in my life to the calling to go and share that change with others here and abroad--and that the true condition of my heart that is revealed would be that of the love and the passion of Christ.
.....♥ C
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