A Mistaken Concept
A MISTAKEN CONCEPT
As believers, we should not have the concept that because we are saved, love the Lord Jesus, have given everything to Him, and want to do ev erything for Him, our environment will be pros perous. No Christian should have this thought. If this is our philosophy of the Christian life, we need to abandon it. Such a view is absolutely wrong.
Many of those who have served the Lord were martyred. For example, John the Baptist, the fore runner of the New Testament, was beheaded. Likewise, Peter and Paul were martyred.
Do you think that being a martyr is a matter of suffering? Actually, anyone who is suffering is not qualified to be a martyr. Martyrdom is an experience of jubilee. Stephen was certainly not suffering when he was martyred. When he was about to be stoned, his face shone like that of an angel (Acts 6:15). Instead of suffering, Stephen was enjoying the Lord.
LOVING THINGS OTHER THAN GOD
If we feel that in a particular environment we are suffering, this indicates that we still love certain things other than God. If we love God