Days 278 & 279: 2 Thessalonians 1-3; Acts 18:19-19:41

I have never been persecuted for my faith. Not really. Oh, I have experienced the feeling that the level of respect a person has for me has fallen a notch when they discovered that I'm a believer. I have had the feeling that a person was sort of looking down their nose at me because I was so narrow-minded as to believe that Jesus was the only way to God. I have felt a little hurt by those who ridicule Christians for being so superstitious and unenlightened as to believe in Jesus. That's about the extent of the persecution I've felt.

However, there are thousands of Christ-followers around the world who are truly persecuted. I mean they could face prison, torture, and even death for their faith.

The early Christians were persecuted. To them Paul writes these words:

God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

What I noticed here is when this will happen. There's a part of me that wants to see them proved wrong. The worldly desire for revenge is strong. I want to be there when they are repaid for their evil...even if their "evil" is just looking down their nose at me. I think we (Christ-followers) need to relax about these things. Particularly those of us who are American Christians who have never experienced any real persecution. Let it  go. My desire for revenge is sin. My desire should be for the persecutors to come to know the Lord. That's a relatively easy thing to change in my situation. I would imagine that it's a little tougher for those who are actually experiencing persecution. Like the Thessalonians.

Paul says to be patient. The time is coming.