While I was studying Taekwondo in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s I met a young preacher on fire for God. At the time there was a self-imposed distance between God and me. However, whenever I would talk with this young fellow I could not help but smiling inside as he simply could not complete a thought without mentioning God, how He was working in his and other’s lives or the benefits of a relationship with Him. I kept my distance, but marveled at his heart. Years later as I thumbed through the channels, there he was, speaking the truth, regardless of what people thought. I looked up his church and honestly it was homely and meager, to be polite. Years turned into decades, yet he maintained his place on the cable channel, never compromising his beliefs. I know personally that many of the viewers lobbied the station and tried to have him taken off the channel, but God uniquely protected him. Today, he continues to preach to a select few.
When I think about him, I think about Jeremiah the prophet and the church at Smyrna. Jeremiah was promised that no one would listen to his prophecies and the church at Smyrna was blatantly abused and harassed with members being martyred. The city’s name befitted the church, because the word for Smyrna in Greek is the same word as Myrrh. Myrrh is a plant that must be crushed to be effective. It was used for fragrance and embalming centuries ago. The Church at Smyrna was one that was heavily persecuted because of its emperor worship and large Jewish contingency. However, they stood the test faithfully and did not falter, stumble or fall. In fact, there are no negative statements recorded at all about the church. They were promised in verse 10: Be faithful, even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life.” The word for crown used here is the victor’s crown (stephanos), rather than the royal crown (diadema), which is appropriate for those who have overcome, i.e., won the victory. Christ saw them as a rich church, not poor.
I don’t believe we have a Smyrnan church in America. There may be isolated individual incidents; however, I am not aware of a wholesale persecution against a particular church. A better example would be the gentleman in Afghanistan who was marked for death after converting from the Muslim faith to Christianity in 2009. Fortunately our president and other world leaders took up his cause and had him protected.
Kids, we are blessed at this point in our history to have the freedom of worship. It does not mean that will always be the case. As you build your friendships and church affiliations, it is important for you to ensure you are living among the faithful. None of us can say that we would not succumb to torture or the threat of death to family members or ourselves. However, with the Holy Spirit’s help you can make your home among those that see a greater reward in the eternal than pleasure in today’s world. It’s a tough call. Living in freedom should make you question how strong your faith really is. When was the last time you were persecuted? When was the last time you had to prove your commitment to anything? Something to think and pray about, isn’t it?
Love,
Dad