In
September 2010 Yousef Nadarkhani was sentenced to death after a court of
appeals found him
guilty of leaving Islam. He had been in prison since October 2009.
At an
appeal hearing in June, the Supreme Court of Iran upheld Nadarkhani’s sentence
but asked the court in Rasht to determine if he was a practicing Muslim before
his conversion. The court declared that Nadarkhani was not a practicing Muslim
before his conversion, but that he was still guilty of apostasy due to his
Muslim ancestry. Thankfully Yousef was freed this past week after 3 years, and
multiple threats of capital punishment. He though freed still refuses to recant
his love and devotion to Christ. (This refusal may land Yousef back in jail…)
If we really are the Gospel Community and we live the
Gospel in the Community,
then
the question of persecution is not “if” but
“when.” (Matt. 10:16-25; 2 Tim.
3:12) Fighting
off persecution is fruitless, and in fact would tarnish our representation of
Christ. Therefore, how we respond to persecution will be how our enemies
remember us.
Here in Romans 12 we the Gospel Community are called to “Bless those who persecute
us.” Blessing has many implications for our lives. We are to always have a good
word about them. We are to Ask God to do good to them. Jesus’ thought was that we were to seek out the good
of other people, even our enemies. The issue is not just to bless (action), but
also to want to bless them (attitude).
So you might be asking, “Mario how can I possibly bless
those who persecute me?” First off I’ll have you know that I struggle daily
with this in my own life. Therefore, my response is several things that my
Pastor Landon Dowden taught me.
1.
Believe that as we live the Gospel not everyone will like it.
2.
Don’t
be caught off guard.
3.
Determine now to
respond with blessing rather than cursing.
4.
Rely fully on Christ.
5.
Set our eyes on Jesus
If we are to love others rightly, we must meditate on
the cross constantly. (Matt.
27:39-44; Luke 23:34)
