Machete Attacks On Christian Villages Kill 500+ In Nigeria
This was the headline that grabbed my attention last night as I logged on to Yahoo to check my email. As I read the article it detailed the attacks by the Muslim north on the Christian south. For anyone who doesn’t know, a machete is a long bladed knife that is used primarily for clearing brush or thick growth primarily in tropical areas. The article spoke of the killings without regard of age--children and adults--or gender--men and women. The killers were indiscriminate---they killed Christians, regardless of who they were.
So it struck me. What an easy-going life we American Christians have. As I write, I am sitting in my pajamas, on the floor of my bedroom. I just had a glass of chocolate milk (gets the creative juices flowing!) Earlier I took a hot shower after work and had a nice hot meal that my wife fixed. The kids are in bed and I am warm and safe in my house. I have no fear that my door will be kicked in and my family will be dragged out into the street and killed.
It’s not a pleasant thought, is it? Somehow, we are able to not think about these things as we go on with our lives here in comfort and peace. We take for granted the freedom we have to worship the way we want. We even take for granted the God we worship, because there is very little cost for us to follow Him.
I listened to a Francis Chan sermon this week. His church supports a pastor in India. The Indian Christians there just recently faced the same persecution, with machetes, this time from militant Hindus. What in the world is going on?
I believe the New Testament paints a clear picture that following Christ is not easy to do. Indeed, it comes with a high cost. For the first century Christians who were persecuted by Rome and unable to fit in with their Jewish heritage, Christianity was costly. For those who follow Him in Nigeria and India, Christianity was costly.
What has Christianity cost you lately? Does anyone even know that you are a Christian? Ouch. The fact is it doesn't cost us much in America to be a Christian. If we are doing it right, we should at least be experiencing a little discomfort. Maybe we don’t swear when everyone around us does. Maybe we have to explain why we aren’t drinking at the office party, when everyone else is. Maybe we wonder if everyone is looking when we are at a restaurant and our 4 year old, sings, quite loudly, Father we thank you, Father we thank you, for our food, for our food, now we say the blessing, now we say the blessing, Amen. Amen. Following Christ is a sacrifice. Remember when He said, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must take up his cross…”
That cross is a burden, it is difficult to bear. Somehow though I think that the ones in Nigeria and India that lost their lives in a horrific way are now standing face to face with Jesus. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the day will come when we must stand up and admit that we are a Christian or deny it for our own sake. I hope when that day comes, we will be ready to do what is necessary, for the One who did what was necessary to make us His own.
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