Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being martyred by ISIS these days. Let us pray for them tenderly, and also for their persecutors. We find ourselves unavoidably, uncomfortably, and in a terrified way reminded about Christ's call to us to embrace our cross. Surely Jesus didn't mean when he said that that some of us would be murdered by the likes of ISIS! Such ugliness is hard to countenance in our churches, where we want things to be nice. It makes plain the shallowness with which we throw around the words of Jesus, who says, "Take up your cross and follow me." How often do I too-casually quote Bonhoeffer: "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
Yet, for all this discomfort we rightly feel, Jesus' call to carry the cross does not just extend to those Christians surrounded by the threat of physical violence.
Read Full Article »