The Danger of Pedestals

Every Sunday morning our church prays the for persecuted Christians around the world. Oftentimes I will share a story of what has happened in the previous week and we will lift these brothers and sisters up by name. Other times we might simply pray for the believers in a certain country. We do this because we feel that it is the right thing to do but also because it challenges us to consider our own spiritual walks and our willingness to suffer for Christ's sake. My prayer is that, the more we hear other's stories, the more we will be emboldened as we live out our own.

There is, however, a danger of exalting those facing persecution to the point of near sainthood because of what they have faced. This week I was witnessing to a Muslim couple and they were asking how many prophets Christianity has. I told them that the way that they view the office of prophet and how we see prophets are different. They asked "Then what do you think of Abraham or Moses?" I replied that they were very godly men who God used in mighty ways, but our focus is not on them and we do not give them undue honor- our focus is on Jesus Christ, the one that they pointed us to. This week the Voice of the Martyrs published this article that argues that we must take the same care to not put today's Christian martyrs on a pedestal either. I found it to be a very good reminder.

You can read it here.