Religious freedom

I can see how the Psalms would be of great comfort to people going through hard times, especially those being persecuted for their faith in Jesus.

In them, David raves about God's might and power and how he will eventually win over any and all evil. I was reading it on my phone while I was walking home from a run yesterday and thought about how many people are suffering for their faith around the world. It seems so far away, and like it could never happen to me.

Really though, how hard would it be to take over this country and take away our freedom of religion. I know, many people don't think we have a freedom of religion because of the flack that Christians get, but all-in-all, we have it really good compared to much of the world.

The majority of time in history, Christians have not been free to pursue their faith. They have been persecuted, and I just heard on the radio that almost every member of the Council of Nicea came missing an appendage or an eye or with burns, because they sacrificed for their beliefs.

It's honestly odd that we have so much freedom today, and will it really last? Will it always be this easy to be a Christian? And are we prepared for the moment that our freedom is eaten away and we might actually have to fight for our faith?

How much of the Bible will you have memorized to get you through if you don't have it to read? Will you know any of it? Will you even fight to keep it?

I wonder what I would do if I was actually challenged on my faith and how to give up something for believing in God?

On the other hand, I wonder if having a faith to fight for would make some of us more vocal. In a culture where Christianity seems so commonplace, we often don't bring up our beliefs and don't share about Jesus with others, because we just assume they have heard. Maybe living in a time or place where it isn't common to be a Christian would make us more willing to share our faith, despite the consequences.

I just think that we, and I include myself, have gotten so used to having freedom of religion, that we don't treasure our relationships with God like we should. Like many important things --- family, friends, people in need --- when it is commonplace, we lose our passion for it. We get excited about the unusual, when everyday things should be even more important.

I want a fire for faith that makes me want to share it with others, whatever the consequences.