Persecution

We have seen this week what mild persecution looks like. The Christian mayor of Jakarta has been sentenced to 2 years in jail for blasphemy against the majority religion. What he said was not blasphemy at all, he only talked, publicly, about the majority religion.  Many people are concerned about the lack of true religious freedom found in this country. Supposedly all six recognized religions are treated equally:

Islam
Christianity
Catholicism
Confucian
Hindu
Buddhist

(notably missing is the prevalent ancestor worship - which is unrecognized)...

What is hard is when Christians here begin asking where they can move to escape persecution.  And the hard conversations we are forced to have about the fact we must "expect" persecution.  We must look forward and know that it is coming.  This will not only occur here in Indonesia, but in every country around the world.

Persecution begins in earnest ANYWHERE the gospel is preached clearly and succinctly and with the power to change lives and save souls for eternity because it makes the enemy mad.

If there is no persecution, we must ask ourselves if there is genuine faith - Not that Christians can't live in peace... but if we are living in peace, are we 1) only surrounded by those of like faith... 2) are we refusing to share the eternity-granting news?  If these two points are properly handled with God fearing justice, we will surely find persecution close behind.