Learning from the Persecuted ChurchSample

Radical Love

Sometimes basic Christian concepts run counter to what comes naturally for us.  They go against our basic nature, which is why we are not encouraged to be “natural,” but rather we are encouraged to be “spiritual.” Often, societal norms are completely different from the Biblical admonitions for us as well. One example of this is the concept of radical love.

Love is not something that we would like to think is contrary to our nature or to the norms of our society, but the type of love we are called to as Christians is definitely unnatural for us. Jesus made simple, yet shocking declarations that may be hard to apply, but show us a radical approach to how we treat others.

• “Love your enemies.”
• “Pray for those who persecute you.”
• “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.”
• “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

These commands represent something far different, far deeper, and far more profound than what is natural to us. They are unnatural responses to unjust circumstances, but they are the responses of the radical love we are called to as followers of Christ. For the Persecuted Church, these are common experiences. The Bible commands this is how we should love and how we should live. The Persecuted Church shows us that it is possible to do so.

Enemies give us an opportunity to love at a deeper level. Unfair treatment and persecution teach us how to forgive at a level that most of us have trouble comprehending. What others meant for evil, God uses for good. We learn how to do this through the difficulties we experience at the hands of unjust people. The testimony of the Persecuted Church, whose primary prayer is for the salvation of their persecutors, lets us know this radical love is possible.

Isn’t it amazing how God uses even our enemies and persecutors for His purposes in our lives? We don’t have to live according to our natural impulses. We don’t have to live natural lives; we can live supernatural lives.