THE GLORY OF BEING A CHRISTIAN There are two things that all tyrants and dictators throughout history have in common; they have a conscience- and, therefore, they are all at least vaguely aware of the difference between right and wrong- and, secondly, they are all mortally afraid of the truth. And because they are afraid of the truth, they go to incredible lengths to disguise the truth. To give only one example of this, during tghe Cold War, all the communist countrties called themselves in one way or another democratic, whereas they were the exact opposite; Peoples Republic of China, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, German Democtratic Republic, Hungarians People Republic, Polish Peoples Republic, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and so on. Tyrants have a way of twisting language to suit their own convenience. The thing they cannot stand is the simple, unadorned truth. In Acts 5:27-33, we can see how the murderers of Jesus cannot stand to hear themselves accused by the apostles of having killed Jesus. Yet, that is exactly what they did. And we must give credit to Peter and John for their great courage. They neither minced their words nor engaged in violent rhetoric. They merely stated the truth. The God of our fathers, they said, has raised up Jesus whom you put to death, hanging him on a tree. But the bare truth has a terrific force of its own. There is no need to add to it, to embellish it. Just to state it is to wield a powerful weapon. And indeed, the moment the bare truth is stated by Peter and John, its effect is immediate on the members of the Sanhedrin. The text of Acts tells us: They were stung to fury and wanted to kill them. As Christians, we are non-violent as was our master and Lord Jesus. Which does not mean that we are passive. No, on the contrary. It is our mission to oppose all forms of injustice with all our might. But we do this like Peter and Paul, without hate. Indeed, it is love that must inspire us. And because we are inspired by love, we have only one weapon- the truth. No one remains indifferent to the truth. People either crucify it (and that is the risk of being a Christian) or they accept it (and that is the glory of being a Christian). Suggested readings: Acts 5:27-33; John 3:31-36
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 13:18:06 +0000
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