Purpose

As Though

“Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” – Hebrews 13:3

 

The call to remember those who are persecuted for Christ’s sake is pretty strong. The passage doesn’t just say to pray for them, or to work for their release, but to remember them as though we were in prison ourselves. As the passage makes clear, if one part of the body of Christ suffers, then the whole body should consider that suffering their own. What does this mean practically? I’m not sure I have an exhaustive list, but if I was imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel, here are some of the things I would desire:

1) Prayer for my release.

2) The use of every available government and diplomatic channel to work for my release.

3) Prayer that God would use my time in confinement for the purpose of His Kingdom.

4) People who would care for my family when I could not.

5) Books to read.

7) Visits and encouragement from those who were not so confided.

8) Information about what was happening in the outside world.

9) Letters from those who could not visit.

10) Access to biblical teaching to continue growing in my faith

As I look through the list I realize that it is far too easy to hear about those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ, and set it aside as something that happens in a place far, far from home. Yet, the body of Christ is not bound my geographic boundaries or locational proximities. And I must ask myself – when I hear about those who are suffering for the sake of the Gospel, do I respond as if it was my own suffering that was at stake? Am I bringing their needs before the throne room of God as I would if my loved one was in their place? That’s what this passage in Hebrews calls us to do. That’s what our Savior commands.

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Purpose

The Paradox of Courage

Take the case of courage. No quality has ever so much addled the brains and tangled the definitions of merely rational sages. Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. “He that will lose his life, the same shall save it,” is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. This paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.  – G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

I am what nice people would call “risk adverse.” I much prefer the safety of the known, rather than the thrill of mystery. When contemplating an adventure, I also like to partake in a risk assessment. “Uncalculated spontaneity” is not a phrase that is normally part of my vocabulary.

While all of this makes me sound very drab, I like to think of it as being prudent. I’ve learned from experience that careful examination of a situation is often well-warranted, especially when facts remain unclear. However, while prudence has its place, it can also be a crutch. Instead of being beneficial to the person who practices it, it can be an impediment to obedience. As the above quotation from Chesterton illustrates, being courageous requires both an appreciation for life, and what he later calls a “disdain of death.” The courageous Christian will want to make this life count for all that it’s worth, for the sake of God’s Kingdom – and at the same time, will risk their very life in order to accomplish this purpose. It is not this life, or to death, that the courageous Christian clings, but to the Cross of Christ.

That is the paradox of courage – a willingness to give it all, while at the same time fighting for what one has been given. It requires both an appreciation for what this life affords, and an anticipation of the next. And it requires knowing that whatever sacrifice may be required of today, it is worth it for the sake of Christ.

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