March 20, 2022

Acts 8: 4 (NIV)

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

More often than not, intense persecution of Christians leads to a spurt of growth in the church.*

When you buy seed for your garden, it comes in little packages – unless you are a professional farmer, in which case your seed will come in a larger container. The seed doesn’t turn into something else while it’s still in its packaging but it will never grow into its potential until it’s scattered or planted properly.

Acts chapter 7 ends with the stoning of Stephen and the first mention of Saul. Chapter 8 begins with the bad news: “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem . . .” Or is that bad news? If Saul hadn’t begun his campaign of terror, going from house to house and dragging Christians off to prison, the church would have stayed in its little seed-packet in Jerusalem and the gardens of the world would have been barren. Instead, all except the apostles fled throughout Judea and Samaria, preaching the word wherever they went.

Christians today seem to be taking the Great Commission pretty seriously. We are taking the gospel into the world, though we aren’t so welcome in some places. Many of our brothers and sisters in other nations suffer persecution for their faith, but from among them have arisen modern-day heroes of the faith. In the United States, where religious freedom has always been our right, we are starting to get a taste of what it’s like to be among the persecuted. Oh, right now it’s more of an inconvenience than a hardship, but it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.

Jesus told us it would happen. He said not to be surprised if the world hates us. It’s not something I look forward to but persecution is often the means by which the gospel gets spread. It’s how our garden grows!

It is not biblical to desire persecution, but according to Jesus it is part of God’s plan, part of our cross-bearing.*