"12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation."
I choose not to complain, gripe, or claim to be a Christian victim. I choose to keep on rejoicing, fully expecting the same fiery ordeal myself one day. I suspect Phil is saying something like, "No biggie, God told me to expect this. God's got this covered." By faith, I do believe God has got this covered. I believe a smile is my best response. What do you believe?
As a post script due to some responses to my article I have posted the following on Facebook: "Please
don't mistake my smile for silence. I do hereby (as many times before)
publicly oppose all sexual immorality including but not limited to
homosexual acts, acts
of lesbianism, polygamy, acts of premarital sex, acts of extramarital
sex, acts of bestiality, acts of pornography, married couples with
holding sex for unholy reasons unlike fasting and prayer, and any others
listed in the Bible. I do also take Peter's words to mean that I will
not react with outrage declaring Christians as victims by uttering words
of anger, vengefulness, and bitterness. I think Clay summed my
reaction best in the Duck Dynasty mantra of "Happy, Happy, Happy."
This doesn't dampen my joy."
LOOOOOOVE it!!! I too find myself wanting to say something to defend this Duck Dynasty guy that I've frankly never watched on television... just because I know he's a Christian and speaks what he believes. But I also find myself not wanting to perpetuate the negativity that comes from defending my beliefs to someone who may never even listen to what I'm saying. So I sit back and do nothing. Sometimes I feel like I'm being a wimp and not standing up for Jesus and everything He's done for me. But other times, especially during the joyous holiday season, I am content with letting it go... knowing in my heart that "God's got this covered." Halleluiah!
ReplyDeleteI agree Leslie! Hallelujah! God's got this covered!
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