How true Christianity offers an uncanny experience
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Opinion
Growing up as a Christian, I was led to believe that if I accepted Christ and became a born-again Christian, my life would be filled with happiness. Then, I realised that I was wrong.
Yes, the Christian life is the most incredible experience a person can have here on earth. However, I later learned that this life also involves experiencing Christ's inner peace despite life's difficulties, which is very different.
Although it may be hard to believe, being a devout Christian and fully committed to following Christ can be strenuous and challenging. Despite the incredible rewards of living a Christian life, it can also be filled with hardships and adversity.
The Apostle Paul, in 2nd Timothy, chapter 3, verse 12 (MEV), made a bewildering statement: "[…] all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." In unambiguous terms, Paul makes it very clear that if someone truly desires to live a godly life in Christ, they will suffer persecution.
Paul on persecution
It is interesting to note that Paul himself was not a disgruntled apostle. Far from it. While in prison, he prayed and praised God (Acts 16:25 MEV), which is quite strange, at least for modern times. Although he had to suffer for Christ, he experienced such happiness and joy, which was, in a word, uncanny.
Paul's statement is an axiom, so time, place, or setting are irrelevant. It applies equally to the pagan or Christian world, barbarian or Roman society, old or modern times. No matter where they may find themselves, genuine Christians will surely face persecution, claims Paul.
The term persecution may seem unfamiliar, and understandably so in modern times. The connotation of the word persecution, having your hands and legs in handcuffs, being imprisoned indefinitely, being slapped, beaten, or even killed in the streets by vigilantes, has changed.
Not only that, but things have significantly improved, as Tom Holland, a modern scholar, points out in his book Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind. The world is still wicked, but rape, violence, and murder are criminalised. Slavery has been abolished. Workers now have a right to unionise. And universal suffrage has become a reality.
Regardless, Paul's assertion remains steadfast. As for now, persecution may have changed its connotation in the West, but the grim reality remains. While it may not be typical for Christians living in the West to be physically assaulted, killed, or imprisoned indefinitely, they will still be unjustly treated, reviled and alienated.
Unfairly judged
Christ's life is the blueprint for a faithful Christian. Just like He was unjustly treated, Christians will also be unfairly judged. If Christ did nothing wrong but live godly and was still persecuted, even condemned to death, can his faithful followers expect anything else? (John 15:20 MEV)
In Luke chapter 9, verse 23, Christ told his disciples, "If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Taking up one's cross means suffering. Christ was never ambiguous about what it entails to be His follower. He never said it was going to be easy. Never.
When someone comes to Christ and becomes a genuine Christian, a true follower of Christ, they undergo a complete change. They are made alive through the blood of Christ Jesus, and all their sins and trespasses are forgiven. (Ephesians 2:1-5 MEV) Moreover, not only are they saved from eternal damnation, but their life gets a new direction and eternal life at the end.
Even here on earth, a faithful Christian will enjoy the abundant life that Christ promised His disciples (John 10:10 MEV). Amid life's difficulties, hardships, and adversities, and even amid persecution, they will experience Christ's inner peace (John 16:33). Walking deeper with Christ will lead them to enjoy the abundant life Christ promised.
Thus, when Paul boldly claims that "[…] all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution," he clearly distinguishes between those who genuinely desire to live a godly life and those who do not. The more a Christian does what is right, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God (Micah 6:8 MEV), the more they will be persecuted.
In the end, a genuine Christ-follower's reality may be grim along the way, but it is crucial to remember that God will also bless him in ways hard to imagine. Those who have walked this road have experienced the true inner peace of Christ, the joy of suffering unjustly, and the ability to love one's neighbour when mistreated. And all of these are uncanny and incomparable.
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