“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Philippians 1:21
Does persecution make us take a step back?
Does it instill fear in us and keep us from sharing the gospel of Christ to the dying world?
In Philippians 1:12-14,
“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”
Paul realized that his imprisonment turned out for the ‘greater progress of the gospel’. Paul’s imprisonment and persecution was well known in all the churches and we see that most people, instead of being afraid, were all the more encouraged to share and fight for the gospel with great courage and boldness.
Many of our brethren out there suffer persecution for the sake of the Gospel. Many of them are in prisons, tortured and go hungry tonight along with their families.
How often do we realize that we are way more privileged than them, having being given more than what we could ask for?
Our response to such persecutions shouldn’t lead us to cower in fear. Instead they should be a stepping stone to fight for the Gospel with great courage and boldness.
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”