Why This happening To us?

 Hey there, fur-iends! 🐾 In the contemporary Christian experience, especially in Western societies, there's a recurring theme of perceived persecution that prompts many believers to ask, "Why is this happening to us?" Now, this question, while rooted in genuine concern and often arising from a sense of injustice, diverts from the meow-gnificent response that Jesus Himself outlined for His followers.

Instead of instructing His disciples to dig around for reasons behind their suffering or to meow about their circumstances, Jesus offered a radically different approach—one that pounces on love, forgiveness, and the transformative power of prayer.

Jesus' teachings on how to respond to persecution are counterintuitive to our feline instincts. In the Sermon on the Mount, He outlined a series of actions that run contrary to our natural desires for revenge or self-defense:

Pray for those who persecute us: Rather than harboring anger or plotting vengeful pounces, Jesus calls us to purr for our persecutors. This is not a passive act but a powerful form of spiritual paws-itive energy. Through prayer, hearts can be changed, including our own. Purring for those who persecute us shifts our perspective from one of victimhood to one of proactive love and compassion.

Bless those who curse us: Blessing those who curse us involves speaking well of them and genuinely desiring God’s best for their lives. This doesn’t mean condoning their actions but choosing to respond with grace instead of bitterness. It's a testament to the transformative power of Christ's love working through us.

Love our enemies: Perhaps the most radical call of all, Jesus commands us to love our enemies. This love is agape love—a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. It’s a love that looks beyond our own pain and seeks the welfare of others, even those who actively work against us.

The Antithesis of "Why"

Asking "Why is this happening to us?" in the face of persecution is to overlook the essence of Jesus' teachings. This question seeks a rationale, a cause-and-effect explanation that can often lead to a victim mentality, whereas Jesus' commands orient us towards action and transformation. The "Why" focuses on the problem; Jesus' commands focus on the Kingdom response. This shift from asking "Why" to asking "How can I love, bless, and purr?" is fundamental to living out the Gospel.

Jesus was unequivocal in His promise that following Him would lead to persecution. "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first," He said in John 15:18. This statement is not a call to seek out suffering or to wear persecution as a badge of honor, but rather a sobering reminder that the Christian path often goes against the grain of societal norms and expectations.

Understanding that persecution is a part of the Christian experience calls for a radical shift in how believers respond to opposition. It's not about seeking reasons or fairness but about embodying the love, grace, and forgiveness of Christ in all circumstances. This is not an easy path. It requires a daily denial of self, a continuous filling of the Holy Spirit, and an unwavering commitment to follow Jesus' example.

The true challenge for modern Christians, especially in the West, is not deciphering why persecution happens, but how to live out Jesus' commands faithfully amidst it. It's about becoming beacons of His radical love in a world that often misunderstands or outright rejects it. This, according to Jesus, is the hallmark of His followers—not that they will live unopposed, but that they will respond to opposition with a love so profound, so counter-cultural, that it can only be understood through the lens of the Gospel.

In essence, the call to purr for those who persecute us, to bless those who curse us, and to love our enemies is not just a strategy for dealing with opposition; it's the very essence of what it means to follow Christ. It's a call to embody the Gospel in such a way that our lives become a living testimony to the grace, love, and transformative power of Jesus Christ.