“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"
Jeremiah 12:5 NIV
Many years ago I heard a message from a visiting pastor and he imagined what any one of the apostles or disciples of the early church would think if they came back today and could hear us talk about our struggles in the western world. They would be embarrased and ashamed of us. These were people who were literally signing their own death warrants just by uttering the phrase, 'Jesus is Lord,' and yet continued to proclaim Jesus as their Lord and continued to meet together and spread the gospel in spite of constant threat of persecution. Often it meant imprisonment and or death.
In our country we have not had to worry about the threat of persecution on a systematic scale. Our country was founded on the principles of freedom which included freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom to own property, etc. That does not mean freedom from responsibility or consequences of our actions. Yet somehow we have adopted that idea in our modern culture.
What has the result been?
We have gone from 18 year old young men having the courage to storm the beaches of Normandy to needing a 'safe place' to protect themselves from being triggered by someone who simply disagrees with them...all within a lifetime.
In the words of G. Michael Hopf: “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
Since World War 2 we have had relatively good times and we have created weak men.
The church has not fared much better. Persecution has always strengthened Christianity so it stands to reason that lack of persecution has weakened it. I forgot where I heard this quote: "It seems you can't swing a dead cat in any direction without hitting a church steeple." Yet we are having almost no effect on our culture. During my lifetime (56 years) We have gone from looking at same sex relationships as being deviant to completely normal and acceptable. When I was in high school if a man decided he identified as a woman and wanted to join the women's swim team he would have been put through psychiatric evaluation and likely committed. A person who has lost touch with reality is insane. But now, saying such a thing is considered hate speech.
And what do we hear from the church? Crickets.
In 2020, we had shutdowns from a 'mysterious' virus. With few exceptions, the church in America voluntarily allowed themselves to be shut down. And what was the driving force behind the shutdowns?
FEAR!!
And what does scripture say about fear? Do NOT be afraid!
Christians from the first century through the Reformation met under threat of having the door kicked in and being hauled off to prison, even death. What would they think of us? Would they even consider us being worthy of being called Christians?
Now some of you might be upset or offended that I would suggest such a thing. In response I would suggest that we all take the admonition in 2 Corinthians 13:5:
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"
This is something followers of Christ should be doing constantly.
The irony is that even with the masks, shutdowns, and social distancing, most of us still got sick...and most of us completely recovered. So what were we afraid of?
Now you might say, "Well somewhere in the neighborhood of a million people in this country died from this virus."
Answer: The mortality rate in percentages was slightly more than the previous year but was lower that the year before that. Most of the tabulated deaths were actually from other causes. There was no pandemic.
Objection: If they hadn't gotten this virus they would still be alive.
Answer: We can't possibly know that.
To conclude, I'll requote the lead off verse:
“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"
Or:
If you were afraid of a cold virus, then...?
