April 3
Poor but Rich
Re 2:8 And unto
the angel of the church in Smyrna write…
Re 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty,
(but thou art rich)..
The church at Smyrna knew suffering. But they continued to work for Christ
in the face of horrendous obstacles. The early centuries of the church produced
uncounted martyrs. When Christ addresses this church the focus is on their
ability to withstand what was coming. They had endured, but greater tribulation
would be their lot.
Rome controlled everything from
England to Egypt and much of the middle east. This vast area was divided into “states”
which were then governed by people appointed by the Roman emperor. When Rome
ordered Christian’s to offer to the Roman gods, the local politicians responded
with varying degrees of compliance. Some in France and England obeyed by burning a few
churches. In other places Christians were denied employment, could not buy or
sell to merchants, had their property confiscated, their churches burned, were hunted down and killed in the worst possible ways. Will Durant in “Caesar and Christ” describes
several ways Roman soldiers killed people. Whipped until the flesh was torn,
then they used sea shells to scrape pieces of meat off and feed them to the dogs,
during which they poured salt and vinegar on the victim.
The early centuries of the church saw periods of persecution and times of
peace. The emperors of Rome tried ten times to exterminate all Christians, with
Diocletian being the last around 300 A.D. It was also the greatest time of
persecution.
The Church at Smyrna suffered greatly during the years of persecution,
which would not end until about 313 AD. That was about the time that
Constantine made Christianity the State religion. In Durant’s book he has an
interesting comment on pg 652 “Caesar and Christ had met in the arena, and
Christ had won.“ Tertullian said “The Blood of the Martyrs’ is the seed of the
church”
Christ did not
have any condemnation for the Church in Smyrna.
Smyrna was a large and prosperous city, one of the great
medical schools was here, as well as great wealth from the sale of myrrh, a
bitter spice. The main street was thirty feet wide with so many public baths it
was hard to choose one. But the
Christian church was poor. They had lost many of their saints to Roman
persecution. Even their Bishop, Polycarp, was arrested and hauled to the massive
amphitheater. The people of Smyrna had insisted that the local official,
Philip, enforce the law. So to appease them he had eleven Christians slain
before them. The blood thirsty crowd demanded that the head of the Christian church
in Smyrna, Bishop Polycarp, be killed as well. He was asked three times to take
an oath to the gods, and deny Christ. His only request was he not be tied to
the post when they burned him. He just stood there but a strong wind blew the
flames away from him until an executioner was ordered to kill him with a sword.
He exhibited what Christ had told this church.
Re 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer:
Such suffering and sacrifice is almost beyond
our comprehension. We marvel at their courage to faithfully endure all for
Christ. We question if we would have that much strength and the answer is yes.
People who go through difficult times are given grace for that time. But you
only receive “dying grace” when you are dying.
This devotional study has not been easy to write.
It is probably as hard to read. Where is the uplifting message, the verse of
scripture for us to meditate on for the day?
Re 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty,
(but thou art rich)
No matter our situation,
Christ knows what we have endured. He knows what kind of work we have done for him,
even if no one else does. He knows your tribulation, because he lived it as
well. He was also poor but knows what riches we have. Being a Christian is the
richest way to live day by day. Lots of rich people are miserable. So are lots
of poor people. It is not money but relationships that make us rich. Knowing
Christ is the richest relationship of all. That is the primary verse for us to
meditate on today.
A second verse is also needed for us
today.
Re 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer:
Notice the verse says to not fear things that
may make us suffer. There is some suffering building in the world today for
those who name the name of Christ. Our world has accepted homosexuality
(sodomy) as a normal loving way to live. People who play sports and admit they
are sodomites are treated as courageous loving people. The Bible condemns
sodomy as evil. If you speak up and say anything negative against a sodomite, like homosexuality is a sin, you can be arrested for “hate speech”. If two fornicating men ask your bakery
to make them a wedding cake, the courts have ruled you have to bake it or give
up your business. Our schools no longer have Christmas and Easter breaks. Now
they are winter and spring breaks. The ten commandments may not be posted in
public buildings. Students cannot mention Jesus in graduation prayers. A church
cannot engage in political speech, or promote a candidate. Don’t even think
about spanking your kids or you will be subject to child abuse laws.
None of these restrictions existed 50 years
ago. Slowly but surely our society is becoming antagonistic
toward Christianity. It is wrapped in words like tolerance, diversity, love, acceptance.
Those who disagree are zealots, bigots, religious nuts, unloving, and intolerant.
I wish this had been a happy, butterflies and rainbows kind of study but it is
not. As Christians there are some serious questions that face us. Fortunately
the bright spot in all this is Christ and the assurance we have in him.
Let us end this somewhat somber study with the
words of a man who lived during a time when people were regularly executed for
heresy. Yet he stood against the establishment and penned these words.
A
mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing;
Our
helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing;
And ends with
Let
goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The
body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still; His kingdom is forever.
Martin
Luther
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