Persecution takes place within a context. Not all persecution carries the same depth of punishment. Some forms of persecution are severe and brutal, both physically and emotionally. Other forms of persecution can be rejection, missing out on a job promotion, or the loss of a friend. All persecution has the same core motivator, no matter what the context– the cause of Christ.
Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, telling them how thankful he was for their example while living under the persecution they suffered. He saw that their faith was flourishing, as was their love for each other. Paul followed that commendation with these words “God will use the persecution to show his justice” (II Thessalonians 1:5).
Paul went on to say their suffering would make them worthy of God’s Kingdom and that in God’s pure expression of justice, He alone would be the one to pay back those who were persecuting them.
While no one wants to suffer persecution, it does have a hidden benefit if we do not pursue our persecutors to pay them back with our expression of justice for what they have done to us. Something larger and more significant is at work. If we assume our mission in life is to prosecute our persecutors as the single goal in life, we will not experience a flourishing kind of faith and love that Paul mentioned. Our suffering carries with it a miraculous potential when we choose to let God alone do the payback.
Some will flippantly say, “You don’t know what real persecution is like. You are living in America!” Those words are many times spoken in an attempt to put someone in their place while offering only a shallow understanding of another person’s reality. Each context where our faith suffers persecution for the cause of Christ has great potential for the growth of our love and faith.
We may not be put in the equivalent of the Mamertine Prison like Paul was or suffer the 39 lashes, or be sent to a concentration camp. What we can experience in those truly horrific places and the less painful forms of persecution is a faith and love that grows despite the context where the suffering occurs. That is what defeats the plan of the devil who used people to unjustly persecute us hoping our pain would cause us to deny the Lord and hate our persecutors. To remain true to the end while living a life of faith and love, whatever that end might be, is a victory that no form of persecution can overcome.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Garris Elkins
Featured Image by Jan Canty on Unsplash
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