Two scriptures come to mind as I write this article; and they
both happen to come from the first chapter of the Biblical Book of Philippians.
You see, when the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Philippians, he was physically
restrained in prison under the Roman government. One reason he wrote to the saints in Philippi
was to encourage them in the Lord. In encouraging them, he lets them realize
that his unjustifiable imprisonment was nothing for them to sorrow about. He says
in verse twenty-one, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Almost immediately,
in verse twenty-nine, he tells the saints in Philippi, “For unto you it is
given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer
for His sake.” This is what my King James Study Bible [and now, me] calls a
believer’s “dual privilege.”
It is a sad truth that a great number of people who tag
themselves Christians follow Christ solely
because of the goodies they can get from Him. I wonder where they got that
from. We definitely do not have the same New Testament versions. From the time
of Jesus, the disciples knew that with salvation came some level of discomfort.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
-
- Ex-tax-collector-turned-disciple,
Matthew, definitely lost some friends and some money when he decided to follow
Jesus.
-
- Peter, Andrew, James,
and John left the financial comfort that their businesses afforded them, and
slept in open fields and right above raging storms with the Master.
-
- Jesus told the
disciples to go a mission trip with no extra clothes, no food, and no money. They
had to depend on their recipients (that is, if they were received) for food and
shelter (Luke 9:1-10; Luke 10:1-37). I’ll bet my money on it that there were
some homes into which they were not accepted, and there were some days when they had
to sleep in open fields with empty stomachs.
About a month ago, on World/Global Evangelism Day, I sent this to
all my BlackBerry Messenger contacts: “Not too long ago, I made a decision to
not just follow Jesus, but to yield to my life completely to Him. I tell you
that’s the VERY BEST decision I’ve ever made. You can make that decision NOW. Don’t
let it wait. Jesus Loves You. Give (yield) yourself to Him and let Him fulfill
His purposes through you. Today is World Evangelism Day. Spread the “JESUS”
message. There’s no better message. Love, Temi.”
Almost immediately, I got reply messages. All, except one, liked
my message. The one who didn’t like it replied by sending me with an "angry face" smiley. I replied him, “Hahaha.
Love Jesus. He loves you.”
He didn’t reply immediately and so, I thought that was it. But
after many hours passed, he replied.
Our conversation follows. For the sake of anonymity, I’ll call
him Horatio. I’m sure Shakespeare wouldn’t mind.
TO BE CONTINUED...
