This evening, as I sat in our living room chair with my new born son resting in my arms, a series of thoughts crossed my mind.
First, I thought about who, other than Jesus, would I consider to be one of my favourite people in the Bible. While the answer has probably changed over the years, I can say that at this point in time it would have to be Stephen from the book of Acts. I think about how he got to see heaven open up prior to his death - a death for standing up for what he believed in - a death for speaking the truth. I think of how God allowed him to have this vision, and I wonder if this vision is what helped him to stay the course during the crazy events that were being played out in front of him.
Second, my train of thought somehow jumped track and an image of a zoo appeared. In this zoo were many ferocious creatures - lions, tigers, and the like. The animals in this zoo were all born in captivity.
Third, and this is the thought that shook me, and prompted me to write this blog, was how these two thoughts were somehow mashed together. I pictured the North American church as the animal who was born in captivity. While the animals in captivity performed some of the same functions as animals in the wild, it really wasn't the same. The zoo animals had it pretty easy in their safe habitat. However, if taken from the safe confines of the zoo, the animal wouldn't have a chance to survive. Ouch. Would I survive under life threatening persecution like Stephen did? Would I survive if my job was on the line? Would I?
Would you?
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