In Raging Fury...

Who is the most unlikely person in your life to become a follower of Christ?  For some of you it is a coworker or a classmate that seem to take pleasure in trying to start arguments so they can show how intellectually inferior you are for believing in God.   It might be your crazy cousin, Vinny, who has nothing better to do at family reunions than to pick on the “religious fanatics” for their belief in God and how they never miss a Sunday.    For others it is a parent, a child. a sibling, or even a spouse that shake their heads anytime you mention your faith.  So, who is it that seems so far from God that in your wildest dreams you couldn’t imagine them becoming a follower of Christ?  

In Acts 26 Paul is making his case before King Agrippa and begins by sharing that in his former way of life he was in the business of persecuting Christians.  In verse 9 he said that he was convinced that he should do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  In verse 10 he confesses how he would put Christians in prison and when they were put to death he would cast his vote against them.  But it is the following verse that gripped me this morning.  “And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. (Acts 26:11)  Did you catch the passion in which he persecuted them?  In “raging fury” he persecuted them even to foreign cities!  

Few of us have known or ever will know persecution like that faced by many believers in foreign countries.  Persecution that means loss of a job, loss of family relationships, or even loss of life.  The closest we come to persecution is people talking badly about us.  So how do we handle the persecution that we face?  Most Christians feel ill-equipped to argue their faith, so we avoid confrontations so we don’t look as silly as many non-believers see us.  Instead, we exact our revenge by huddling with other believers and belittling and badmouthing those who seem so far from the faith.... sometimes even in the form of “prayer requests.”  

As I read this morning Acts 26:11 my heart stirred with excitement.  If God can save Paul, then who indeed is beyond the grip of His grace?  True, I don’t know the person in your life that seems to get pleasure by picking on your religious beliefs, but surely they can’t be worse than Paul.  I doubt the person persecuting you is doing so in “raging fury” and so intent on doing so that they are pursuing you to foreign countries!  So if God can get to the heart of Paul, why can’t he get to the heart of your persecutor?  

I can’t really say that I know of anybody in my life that gets their kicks of making fun of my religious beliefs, although I am sure they are there.  But, I have tons of friends that are atheists, agnostics, or are just so seemingly far from the Lord that I can’t imagine what it would look like if God got ahold of their hearts.  So, this morning I spent time praying for them.  Praying that God would do a miraculous work in their lives.  That they would know Him.  That they would know the peace and joy that comes from being in a relationship with Him.  One by one I called their names in prayer and asked God to transform them.  I found that praying for them brings me much more joy then talking about them.  

So, who is the most unlikely person in your life to become a follower of Christ... and how long has it been since you called their name out to God in prayer?  

-dp