Sunday morning a friend posted a link to this blog, which calls to light the imminent execution of 33 Christians in North Korea at the order of dictator Kim Jong-un. These believers are reportedly being sentenced to execution for their work to birth nearly 500 underground churches in North Korea.
While I was sitting on my couch, curled up under a blanket and drinking a cup of coffee, lamenting daylight savings time and the loss of an hour of sleep, this. This was happening. 33 of my brothers and sisters, literally facing death for their faith.
No.
Not for their faith alone, for faith without works is dead. But for their passionate, all-in, willing to lay down their life in the most literal sense, all consuming devotion to share the gospel. That others would know freedom, know salvation, know Life. They have become obedient, even to death. Conformed to the image of Christ in ways that I cannot even comprehend. And I cannot shake this.
As I got ready for church, I could not shake it. As I sat in my comfortable pew, singing familiar songs, I thought about moments I'd whispered lyrics with reverence and awe, and way too many moments I'd sung rehearsed words with much too much familiarity and apathy. And I could not shake it.
We went out to lunch with some of our beloved church family (a rare treat for us since our family has expanded) and we came back together in the evening for more fellowship and study and play and the more I enjoy all of the blessing, the more I cannot shake it and I wonder. Is it really blessing? I mean it is. But what does it mean? All of this incredibly lavish poured out on me. Am I called to simply be grateful and live life enjoying the extravagant much I have been given? And all day long, I just couldn't shake it. And softly, the Spirit whispered the Word to my heart:
Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?"
(Peter wanted to know if he was off the hook. Don't we all?!)
The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
The servant who knows the master's will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
Luke 12:41-48
Do we get what these verses mean? Do we understand. . .really down to our toes. . .that we. We. We are the ones with much. Much everything.
Much time. We have more time than any of us know what to do with. I know, I know. We are all so busy it makes our head spin. But what are we doing? We spend very little time on anything devoted to our actual survival. While much of the world still spends their days working hard labor simply to live, we have mastered the art of luxury. To the degree that we can no longer even discern where the line is between necessity and excess. Where does our time go? I know that I am constantly complaining/bragging/lamenting how busy my life is, but I can promise you that if someone made public the amount of time I spend on Facebook, I would probably crawl under a rock in shame. I want to serve. I want to get on my face and pray for the persecuted church and for my friends and family who don't know Christ. I want to disciple my kids and invest in real relationships that satisfy the soul and impact eternity. There are so many time suckers in my life that I allow to distract me from doing anything that means anything.
Much money. Yep. That's us. I know, a lot of us are sick of hearing this. But are we hearing this? You've heard the stats. Much of the world lives on $2.00 a day. Two dollars a day. I am not going to hammer this point because so many others already are and because we know in our core that it is true. We. Have. Too. Much. The simple reality is that we, in this country. Us. We have the financial potential to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. To provide Bibles and food and medical supplies and missionaries to the very least of these. We debate whether we should start at home, or send our resources to the poorest of the poor around the world. The answer is yes. I know that the issues are complicated - that just sending money doesn't fix everything and sometimes even makes things worse. But it is time to stop hiding behind this excuse. There are brilliant people out there who have addressed this and are offering wonderful, wholistic, thoughtful, workable solutions, but we have to act. Rise up, Church! Scripture is clear. We are given much so that we can give much.
Much access to Scripture. We all have extra Bibles idling on shelves ,in drawers, under beds. At our finger tips we have access to endless resources. Blogs, books, Greek and Hebrew dictionaries and lexicons. Commentaries and sermons. More than any generation before us, this information is available not just to the elite and highly educated - but to every day people. You. Me. My fear is that we have become so saturated that the incredible, life giving Word of God has become common to us. Such access have we to Scripture and biblical teaching and resources that our churches should be overflowing with strong, mature, meat eating believers living lives marked by joy, sacrificial service and radical giving. If tomorrow, the government ordered it illegal to read the Bible and came in and stripped your home and church of every copy, how much of that precious, living and active Word would be hidden in our hearts? We cannot say we didn't know, didn't have opportunity, for our lives overflow with access to both.
Much freedom. Freedom to worship, to share our faith, to live openly as believers in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ! Is it true that some of those freedoms are under attack? Probably. But in light of the kind of persecution happening around the world I hardly think we can see ourselves as oppressed. What are we doing with our freedom? While brothers and sisters around the world literally risk being disowned by their families, thrown in prison, tortured, and killed, we call it persecution when private business owners instruct their employees to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. I think it is time for some perspective.
The believers in North Korea risked their earthly lives to share the freedom and Life they had found in Christ. They planted nearly 500 underground churches, and I am often scared to share my faith because someone might think I am weird. Sometimes I don't want to share because I don't want to be associated with many of the stereotypes and stigmas associated with Christians (and let's be honest, we've fairly earned some of these.) But if I really believe. . .really believe. . .down to the core of who I am that there is a world full of people created in His image, precious to Him, dying in their sin and captivity, how dare I keep my faith to myself. There is nothing more important for me on this earth than to obey His direct command to go and make disciples. It is my calling, my purpose. It should be the driving motivation and context for everything I do. Every word, every action, every decision should take this one, life consuming goal into consideration - beginning with a desire to draw my family to Him - but rippling into every compartment of my life and every person I may be given the divine opportunity to touch. What are we doing with our freedom?
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded."
Please hear that this selfish, comfort addicted, Facebook saturated, time wasting, witness fearing girl is preaching to herself. I needed to hear this. Need to remember this. Over and over. Maybe you too? Oh how these verses should cause us some serious reflection. The question isn't whether or not we have much. That debate is old and worn out. The question is what are we doing with our much?
