I turned sixty-nine last month, and I continue to be amazed at how naïve I still am.
Let me explain.
This is the second version of this blog. In the first version I talked specifically and in vivid detail about the emotional, vocational, relational, and physical harassment and harm that three mission works we support now face. I was moved by their present-day persecution, and I wanted to share it opening and candidly with you.
How naïve.
Prior to that version being placed on the World Wide Web…I received an email explaining that the information shared about one of these mission areas must remain completely confidential due to the added harm it might cause those Christians.
You see, it is one thing to sit in my “comfortable typing chair” to write about persecution. It is another thing all together to be living through it.
So let me share this with you in general terms…
Right now, in places around the world, Christians of every color and ethnicity face peril simply because of their desire to tell other people about Jesus. Their governments, their fellow citizens, their local leaders and sometimes their own families are doing anything within their power to stop these Christians from sharing and showing Jesus. Church buildings are being burned; Christians are being falsely accused and arrested; threats are being leveled on a personal and congregational level; and bodily harm is a daily threat.
One Christian who lives with this constant threat shared this simple statement of faith with me: “We are very much upset but are obeying and accepting God 's Will.”
These Christians are living out what Paul urged all of us to do in 1 Timothy 6:12:
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Here is something else I have been naïve about: The importance of confession.
I was twelve years and one week old when I gave my life to Jesus. As I stood in the baptistry of the Rome, New York Church of Christ, my Dad, who was the church’s minister, said, “Son, before I baptize you, I need you to answer this question, Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?” I confessed to Dad and everyone else at worship that morning by saying, “I do.”
I have not done much “good confessing” since then. Oh, I have done my share of confessing sin and when I mess up. I have confessed and apologized to Jeanette, my kids, my employers, other Christians, friends, and neighbors. I apologized for inappropriate words, actions, not doing what I promised, or for not doing what should have done with a simple, "I am sorry. I am asking for your forgiveness.” I believe in my heart that this is important to do.
However, how often do I make the “Good Confession”? How often do I say aloud that Jesus is my Lord, Savior, Guide, and the Sustainer of my life? Not so often.
Being able to fight the good fight as our Christian brothers and sisters do is linked to their making the Good Confession. I have now come to believe that making the Good Confession is connected to keeping the faith, as we in North America face the good fight of “faith-fade” in our more comfortable post-Christian culture.
To a group of Christians who were ready to give up on their faith in Jesus. the author of Hebrews, like Paul in 1 Timothy 6:12, talks about how confession and faith are linked.
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partners in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession… Hebrews 3:1
Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. Hebrews 4:14
Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
Everyday around the world Christians fighting the good fight are living out their faith as they unwaveringly make the “Good Confession,” even though that confession brings the threat of harm. These faithful Christ-followers know that the “Good Confession” is not merely a one-time event when you are twelve.
The “Good Confession” is at the heart of both finding and keeping your faith.
When it comes to confession I am not as naïve as I once was. I now see the need to make this “good confession” daily.
Do you?
Bruce
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