THE BEATITUDES X

THE BEATITUDES X

As some of my readers know, I have been to China twice for two weeks each trip, traveling to three or four different cities. We met Christian brothers and sisters; some of you are reading this. We also went to Christian churches every Sunday. Now, we hear Christians are still being persecuted in China. So why did we never hear about that in our visits? How come we never heard about all the terrible things the Falun Gong members say the government is doing to them? Here in Vancouver, this being the democratic country of Canada, the Falun Gong has the right of free speech. For years they protested in front of the Chinese Embassy. You could see their posters on the walls of the embassy all the time when you drove by, as it was on the main street from the airport to downtown so almost everyone coming to Vancouver saw it.

Jesus said:

5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

I think the Falun Gong came under persecution because they protested about something and the government became worried about how much power they seemed to have. How were they able to stage, to put on, such a big protest? Governments are always worried about power. They only think in political terms so they could not conceive of people actually banding together for other purposes.

Are Christians being persecuted for their faith, their righteousness? I think many times nowadays, both in China and elsewhere, so-called Christians may not be persecuted if they keep their faith to themselves. They can talk about it with one another. They can even have a church. However, if they begin to speak out because of their righteousness, because of their Christian beliefs, about bad things the government is doing, or problems in society, they will be persecuted.

A Chinese lawyer was once arrested because he was defending the underprivileged in China against the government. His clients had problems like being evicted from their homes to make way for developers, or for becoming ill because of pollution from state sponsored industrial and chemical plants.

I have to wonder if some of the churches we attended in China are allowed to be because they don't do or say anything that offends the government. Is that how it should be? In fact, some are saying that the totalitarian government in China (it is really not communist anymore) accept people being Christian because they realize they are good citizens. Good citizens, in their terms, means not disturbing the peace. If we really stand up for what we should believe as Christians, if we would really and totally follow what Christ taught, we would probably be persecuted. Even in North America. 

Jesus said, "Whoever therefore shall confess me before others, that person I will also confess before my father in heaven. But whoever shall deny me before others, that person I will also deny before my Father in Heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33). Those are strong words. We can all do better at speaking out for our faith.  Speaking out for our fait does not just mean telling people 2 repent and be saved. It also means telling them how to the disciples, how to live as Christians. That is a whole different story and expectation. If we do that, then Jesus and the father God will truly say the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to us.