Persecuted

John 15:18-20 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

"I have never been persecuted for my faith." That is a statement that I am both ashamed of and thankful for all at the same time. Ashamed because throughout the new testament it seems obvious that it is a privilege to be persecuted for the name of Jesus. However I am thankful for not enduring the many things I have read and heard about as far as Christians in other countries and the horrors that they face because of their relationship with Christ. What seems odd to me though is that in those countries Christianity is flourishing and many are coming to Christ daily. I don't pretend to think that one day things are going to change in this country and really I can see the writing on the wall that they are changing. But all of this leads me to wonder does my life reflect Christ so much that others could not mistake that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I wonder if I was arrested for my faith would there be enough evidence to keep me in jail. Jesus said it plainly in the passage above if you are of the world the world will love you. I do not want to be loved by the world, I want to honor my, Savior Jesus Christ, even if that means persecution.

Father my prayer is that my life would so reflect your sons that people would know that I am a friend of you. Help me to live in such a way that others see Christ in me.