“Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.”
2 Timothy 2:8-10 NLT
If you were to ask Christian’s today why they would face the threat of Roman persecution, they might not be able to answer. For many Christianity is not a meaningful discipleship relationship with Jesus. Instead it is a networking tool that produces culture. To put it bluntly, Jesus didn’t die to create culture. He died to free us from bondage. It is true that his death and resurrection create a beautiful and robust culture but it is sacrilege to reduce his passion to a spiritual Human Resources department. Paul understood that Jesus is worth dying for. He understood That Jesus was creation’s long awaited answer to the willful pact of slavery it entered in when it became a traitor to God in Eden. He understood that Jesus was humanities only hope of meaningful existence, if not actual existence. Many Christian’s do not think of Jesus in this way. However, this is exactly how they should be taught to think of him. It is this knowledge that will carry them no matter the chains they wear, no matter the prison cell they inhabit.
JOSH McGARY. COM 