S) "31 For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
Luke 23:31 (NASB)
O) Jesus was responding to the onlookers who were mourning his death sentence. As He was being led to Golgotha, He had some brief words of warning to Jerusalem. In the passage (vv.27-31), He was saying that, if it is this bad while He was still among them, it would be even worse in His absence. It is important to distinguish that Jesus was referring to the behavior of those who opposed Him, not necessarily describing anything about the condition of His followers after He was gone. Persecution of both Christianity and Judaism got much more serious in the years following His crucifixion, including the destruction of the temple in 70AD. Despite the fact that Christianity was a global force for many years (with its own, wrong violence), it has always had opposition in some place or another, to varying degrees of fatality.
A) It seems a lot of my journaling this year has involved discussion about the cultural change in my country. I suppose that change could continue to be a theme for me for the rest of my life, here. Throughout most of US history, Christianity was at least a cultural norm. It was appreciated as a positive worldview, for the most part. Even if people disagreed with various religious aspects of different denominations, there were certain biblical truths that the general public agreed were true. Over the last fifty or sixty years, though, there has been a gradual turn from Christianity, and it has slowly become more and more normal for Christianity to be ridiculed. When my country was green (that is, when they mostly accepted the Truth, Jesus), we still had terrible things happening. I suppose that is because people were still not submitted to Christ as Lord, even if they claimed to believe. Now, my country is becoming quite dry (no longer accepting the Truth, Jesus), so I'm not entirely sure what to expect. The warning Jesus gives to the citizens of Jerusalem seems fairly applicable to Americans, now. So, I set my mind on the truth that my identity is not found in my political citizenship, but in my eternal, spiritual citizenship. I have no fear of the world, because my King has overcome the world!
P) Father, the future of my country is a complete mystery to me. However, I know that You are infinitely wise, and that You know all things, declaring the end from the beginning. My own future, and the future of my country, is quite plain to You. I am choosing to trust that You will lead me as I need to be led. You will teach me what I need to know. If there are warning signs, if there are dangers, I know that my security and protection are Yours to provide. Give me courage in the face of ridicule for Your name. Give me boldness in the face of persecution for Your name. Give me life, in the face of martyrdom for Your name. Thank You for the peace that You give, unlike any other, that cannot be stolen by any circumstance. Let me rest in Your strength. Let Your will be done in my life, in my country, in my world. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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