Alright. So a couple of
days ago I went to the local jail to serve time to take care of a ticket
that I didn’t have the money to pay for (don’t worry Grandma it was a
minor traffic ticket, my inspection was out.) Anyway I was only there
for two days, but there’s not a lot to do but sleep and read a bible
that’s provided and…think.
days ago I went to the local jail to serve time to take care of a ticket
that I didn’t have the money to pay for (don’t worry Grandma it was a
minor traffic ticket, my inspection was out.) Anyway I was only there
for two days, but there’s not a lot to do but sleep and read a bible
that’s provided and…think.
I sat in the cell and read the Word, and slept and read more and
slept and read and thought I started to get bored…PATHETIC! God
quickly brought to mind a book I have been reading called The Heavenly
Man, it’s about a man named Brother Yun who suffered greatly under the
Chinese government for the sake of Christ. Now I was not in jail because
of my faith, but being there made me realize how fortunate I am. Yes I
was in jail, but I was not being held against my own will, I chose to
sit my ticket out. I was not being tortured; I was being fed 3 meals a
day and had a mattress to sleep on complete with two blankets. I had no
right to be bored. Then I thought, “What if” What if I was put in prison
against my own will and tortured and held from my family and friends
for an unknown amount of time…all for the sake of Christ. Brutal
thought I know, scary thought I know but this thought is not far from
others reality.
slept and read and thought I started to get bored…PATHETIC! God
quickly brought to mind a book I have been reading called The Heavenly
Man, it’s about a man named Brother Yun who suffered greatly under the
Chinese government for the sake of Christ. Now I was not in jail because
of my faith, but being there made me realize how fortunate I am. Yes I
was in jail, but I was not being held against my own will, I chose to
sit my ticket out. I was not being tortured; I was being fed 3 meals a
day and had a mattress to sleep on complete with two blankets. I had no
right to be bored. Then I thought, “What if” What if I was put in prison
against my own will and tortured and held from my family and friends
for an unknown amount of time…all for the sake of Christ. Brutal
thought I know, scary thought I know but this thought is not far from
others reality.
So often I forget how lucky I am to have the freedom to travel the world
and share the great news of the Lord. I forget how privileged I am to
be able to pray in public. The fact that there was a Bible in a public
government building is something taken advantage of by the “free
American Christian culture”. If you had to fight for It…would you?
This is the question I ask myself. This is the question that stared me
in the face as I sat in my fluffy cell reading in Acts about how Paul
and Silas sang their way out of chains…would I?
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because
we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character;
and character hope.
Romans 5:4
