I’m mindful as we approach this Thanksgiving weekend of so many things that most of us are privileged to do – even while some of our brothers and sisters around the world don’t get to do them:
- Gather together as a church. In many places around the globe, believers gather quietly only in small groups to avoid bringing attention to themselves.
- Meet in the same place each week. Others move around for the same reasons they gather only in small groups.
- Read the Bible. Not everyone can read at all. Many have no access to education.
- Have the Bible in our language. The Bible has been translated into English for so long that we take its access for granted. Others understand that having the Word is a gift.
- Have our own copy of the Bible. Some believers have only what they have stored in their heads (and they actually show us why scripture memorization matters).
- Preach and teach the Bible freely. We who will preach this weekend don’t worry about arrest or persecution.
- Sing loudly. We don’t have to worry about drawing attention to ourselves by our singing (and that’s one reason why I think we need to sing more loudly. . . ).
- Have income to give to our church’s work. Even if we don’t have much to give, we have more than much of the world does.
- Make a public commitment to Christ without fear. Others around the world do make commitments, but doing so puts them in danger.
- Go from church to tell others about Jesus without peril. No threat of persecution keeps us from telling the Good News. It’s disobedience that’s the cause—and it’s a glaring omission when we have complete freedom to speak about Jesus.
Don’t take for granted all that you’re privileged to do this weekend with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
“Have your own copy of the Bible.” Let me elaborate on what that means. For someone here in the United States, it means that we can go to a store that sells Bibles, pick from any number of excellent translations, and leave our Bible anywhere in her homes where visitors can see that we have a Bible. They can also tell from the condition of the Bible that we read it frequently. We are not limited to the translation that someone has smuggled into the country or painstakingly copied by hand from a smuggled Bible. We don’t have to keep our Bible hidden in case it is confiscated and we are arrested for having one. Having our own coy of the Bible is something tht we should be really thankful for. .
Thanks, Robin.