"Weakness, suffering and sacrifice are God's modus operandi. This is how he achieves his ends: not through strength, through compulsion, but through love, through invitation.
In the process, the Servant of God suffers and dies; and so do those who follow him. This is to be expected--this is God's way of reconciling the world to himself. A cross-centred gospel requires cross-carrying messengers. When Jesus declared, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me' (Matthew 16:24), we need to take his words much more literally than we are used to doing... ... ...To be called to follow Christ is to receive a call to suffer"
--Glenn Penner, "A Biblical View of Persecution" (preface to China's Book of Martyrs)
So if Jesus' call is to come and die, what does that mean for me...a sheltered 19 year old girl in American society? I can remember being scoffed at for my faith only once. What do Paul's words mean, "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12)? I have pledged my allegiance to this Jesus, and I think these questions are worthy of my consideration.
What are your thoughts? I would love to hear!
And by the way, China's Book of Martyrs and other books by Paul Hattaway are on clearance at IBS; they're practically giving them away! (I highly recommend Peoples of the Buddhist World. It contains prayer profiles of more than 200 Buddhist people groups with color photographs as well as incredible testimonies to the power of God.)
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