Oh, you want more proof? For that, let’s focus on the apostles. James was killed by the sword through orders of King Herod. Peter was crucified upside down. Andrew was hung. Thomas was burned alive. Philip, Bartholomew, and Simon the Zealot were tortured and crucified. Matthew was beheaded. James the Lesser and Judas Thaddeus were beaten to death. Matthias was stoned to death while hanging on a cross. Lastly, John was thrown into boiling oil, but did not die. All of these actions were because these men refused to deny Christ. Do you think all 12 of these men would have gone through these painful deaths if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead? These men saw the resurrection first hand and would rather die than not share Christ with the world.
We often forget the sufferings of the early Christians because we are so blessed to be able to worship in public today. I won’t lie, today we still have sufferings. Loved ones pass away, friends leave, bullies are everywhere, lust is taught more than love, natural disasters, and much more. But those are the world’s problem. We are Christians. What does that mean? It means that we follow a crucified Lord and we should be prepared to not only suffer, but to embrace it. Life is just a long journey to prepare ourselves for Heaven. The most encouraging thing I can share with you as you suffer is “Well, here’s your chance to knock off time in Purgatory (Heaven’s waiting room, read Luke 16:19-31 for better description).” Until next week, keep praying.
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