People of Patience

How do you respond when you find yourself in an environment where your relationship with Jesus Christ is met with intolerance or even hostility?

Throughout history, people of God have often been confronted by resistance and animosity. While oppression is not exclusive to those of us who are followers of Jesus, it is certainly a sobering part of our story.

There’s no way around it. The ways of the world are dissonant to the ways of God. The song of the redeemed flows from a heart attuned to the Spirit of God. The world, on the other hand, is singing an entirely different song in a completely different key under the direction of a much more menacing composer.

How are we to respond when our Savior is rejected and our message is ridiculed?

Some Christians fight the world with anger, finger-pointing, and hate speech. Not only does this dishonor Jesus’ example and His teachings, it turns people away from God, rather than toward Him.

Some Christians flee the world, choosing to disassociate themselves from the world as much as possible. But if we all retreat into hiding, how will the world hear the message of Jesus and see it lived in real life?

Some Christians float along with the world, trying to be undercover Christians by privatizing their faith, hoping to avoid conflict. It may seem like a worthy notion, but true followers of Jesus are called to shine brightly as beacons in the darkness, not blend in unnoticed among the shadows.

What we desperately need today is courageous faith.

If anyone knows about courageous faith, it is Daniel. He was exiled from Jerusalem as a young man and deported to Babylon - a pagan culture with no room or patience for any talk of Yahweh. Daniel was one of many chosen to be enculturated and indoctrinated into the ways and worldview of the Babylonians. But time and again, Daniel graciously and courageously remained faithful to God.

As we study Daniel’s life, may we become people of courageous faith.