SOME CRUTCH

2 Corinthians 4:8-128 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death ofJesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death forJesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Have you ever had to use a crutch? I never have, but I know one thing--a crutch is designed to make life a whole lot easier for the person using it.

Sometimes you meet people who say Christianity is nothing more than a crutch--that the only reason people claim to trust Jesus is that they are wimpy weaklings who have to make up religion to get by. Apparently they haven't heard about Dr. Xu Yong-hai, a Chinese psychiatrist who spent 21/2 years being "re-educated" by the government because he professed faith in Jesus. Later, he was arrested again--this time for his work with a house church.

Or maybe those who think Christianity is a crutch haven't heard about the Christians who were attacked (one was killed) while trying to run a Christian center for orphans in Egypt.

And perhaps crutch-callers didn't hear about the family in Sri Lanka whose home was attacked because they refused to renounce their belief in Jesus.

These people are not looking for a crutch. No, they have something in their hearts that is deep and essential. They have a personal relationship with the God of the universe--a relationship born of their undying faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross.They are not limping along in life, looking for something to hold them up. They are children of the King of kings--eager to sacrifice everything for the privilege of proclaiming Him.

Those who don't understand the Christian faith need to know about another person. His name is Paul. His trust in Jesus led to his being arrested, flogged, mocked, and shipwrecked (2 Corinthians11:16-29). And in all this, he had to struggle with a "thorn in the flesh" that God would not remove (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

A crutch? I don't think so. Faith in Jesus is not about our safety and caution, our wealth and our health. It's about believing Jesus and trusting Him no matter what. It's about taking up a daily cross and following the Savior. --Dave Branon

DESTINATION POINTS

* In what ways have I ever thought of my salvation as a crutch? And in what ways have I avoided persecution?

LINKS:
Find out more about fellow Christians who are suffering for theirbeliefs. Go to http://www.persecution.org

bottom line: You can't carry a cross and a crutch.

soul journey