‘All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.’ [Jesus Christ, Matthew 10.22 with similiar renditions in Luke 21.17 and Mark 13.13
But what does that mean? Well, for starters, i guess it might mean that if no-one at all hates you, you just might be doing it wrong.
I think what Jesus was meaning by that statement was that the message i am about to give you and the lifestyle I will demonstrate for you is so different and so subversive and so completely upside-down from what you are used to, that a lot of people will not understand and many people will respond in confusion and anger, and some may even want to kill you.
A little bit of a problem if you are blending in so well with those around you that no-one even notices you are different.
But ‘hate’ is so strong, so let’s take it down a notch:
# Jesus was betrayed, denied, abandoned, judged, accused of something He didn’t do, deserted and crucified [one of the most painful deaths known to man]
# Paul was beaten, stoned, judged, shipwrecked, lashed, accused of being something he wasn’t and eventually killed
# 10 of Jesus’ 12 disciples were martyred for their faith [Judas killed himself and John died of old age but amongst the others it is believed they included death by being thrown off the temple, flayed alive and crucified upside-down, stabbing, being sawn in half and being clubbed to death.
Early Christians were covered in tar and set on fire for the amusement of Nero [or to be human candles at his parties], they were dragged behind chariots until dead, they were tied in leather bags and thrown in water so that they were squeezed to death and they were fed to the lions and other beasts at the Roman circus.
and don’t get me started on the Old Testament…
since almost everyone throughout the Bible lived lives that don’t appear when you type ‘comfortable’ and ‘people in the Bible’ into Uncle Google, with Jesus preaching that if you live a life that is modeled on his words and teaching that you will not be popular and since the actual lives of those professing faith in Jesus throughout the early history of the church looked remarkably uncomfortable, at risk, revolutionary, difficult and challenging, it AMAZES ME how so much of the western church today can arrive at a Christianity that looks very much comfortable, easy, non-threatening, acceptable [to those outside of the church] and not really all that subversive at all.
could this be linked to the fact that so many of us are not reading the bible any more but simply listening to the words of teachers who say things we agree with?
could this be because many of us have run out of steam and exchanged the change-the-world passion we once exhuded so brightly for settling and comfort?
could this be because the stories of those actively living lives that look a lot more like Jesus are being pushed to the side while the noise of the popular preacher takes centre stage?
and more.
the good news is that it is never too late to change.
the world is crying out for an authentic church that flies in the face of conventional assimilation and actually knows, believes and lives out the words of Jesus.
[altho be warned – all men might hate you if you do… but that might be a sign that you are close to being on the right track again]
[and i should add the disclaimer that being hated by everyone doesn’t mean you’re necessarily doing it right – it could just mean you’re a jerk – looking at you Westboro! – so you’re looking for the combination of following Jesus and not being particularly loved by everyone]
if your Christianity is easy, chances are strong that you could be doing it wrong. it seldom was for Jesus and He came to show us how perfectly this thing could be done.
‘Then Jesus said, if anyone wants to follow Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’ [Luke 9.23]
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Westboro Baptist must be doing something right. Everybody hates them! 🙂
ah yes, i did forget to add the ‘don’t simply be a douche’ disclaimer…
Dear Brett. I loved this post as it’s something that has worried me for a while now, both as a saved person and as a not saved person – surely there’s more to christianity than this and surely we’re called to something greater than just going to a lecture once a week, not doing too much bad stuff and having friends whose lives sound the same?
Just some thoughts I’ve had. Whilst the bible is full of people who went through hectic levels of discomfort on accounts of their faith, there were also a decent number of folk who received decent earthly rewards and comfort and other blessings as a result of their faith and didn’t have the same levels of discomfort. I’m looking at guys like Joseph, Solomon, David, Daniel, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Samson, Saul and others. Now obviously most (all?) of these guys went through some hectic trials too, but they also had what we’d consider extremely comfortable and affluent lives for at least a large chunk of their lives on earth. Also, I’m pretty sure there have been a lot of awesome guys, with radical faith in and love for God whose stories didn’t make the bible, who served God with faith but who didn’t live hectic, confrontational lives and so didn’t live in too much “discomfort”. So I guess my point is just to remember that God has callings for each of us, and sometimes those callings will include earthly wealth and comfort and sometimes they won’t but that those guys who are called to live more behind the scenes CAN still be pursuing a radical christianity even if they aren’t made to suffer for it. Also, it’s important to remember that, due to the times they lived, the early church was at risk of much more bad stuff in terms of dying and abuse than we are today, so I think judging the times is important. That said, even in western civilization, we can definitely be made to suffer for our faith, even in less outright physical agony sort of ways and more emotional/verbal sorts of ways.
Once again though, I agree 100% with the post and the fact that God has called all of us to live differently and I hope this post makes many re-evaluate how they “do church” and what they’re “content with” in terms of their relationship with God.
Great stuff although pretty much all those okes you mentioned went through pretty hectic trials like you said, so maybe change to ‘if your life is always easy and comfortable’ – with you on the’broad strokes’ thing too, except to add that Jesus left us some clear instructions that go way beyond attending a meeting once a week – things like making disciples and looking after the least of these and forgiving everyone who sins against us and going as far as blessing those who persecute us… Those were teachings for everyone and if you are doing this things then chance are strong that your life is not always uber comfortable and nice…
If you are living obediently to the call and example of Jesus I believe your life will be categories by messy, not necessarily every moment, but a lot of them.