We humans are discouraged when circumstances or people do not allow us the chance to compete in our area of expertise. We want the opportunity to “show our stuff”. We long for the moment when we can let others see what we are capable of doing. The conditions in the USA are exactly right for Christians to show what we are made of. In John 8:12 and John 9:5, Jesus said that He is “the Light of the World”. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus called upon Christians to be “the light of the world”. As the world around us gets ever darker, whatever light we individually have will seem that much brighter. We have been given a fantastic opportunity to show what we are made of and what we can do, or more accurately what Christ can do through us.
Acts 16 provides a thrilling example of the kind of light obedient Christians will pour out upon the darkness. Paul and Silas arrived in Macedonia and preached the good news about Christ for the first time in Europe. They made their first convert and quickly got into trouble with local businessmen who demanded that the local authorities arrest Paul and Silas.
Acts 16:22-30 describes the opportunities created,
The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!" And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (NASU)
Paul and Silas were given new opportunities to be beaten and jailed in the name of Jesus. They were able to join in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering which Paul would later write about in Philippians 3. Paul and Silas were given new opportunities to glorify God through praise and worship. They were given a new opportunity to display unbelievable trust in God by remaining in the jail even though they could have simply walked out. Perhaps best of all, Paul and Silas were given the opportunity to share the good news about salvation in Christ. With a new found respect for his prisoners, the jailer cried out in verse 30, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”. There can be no doubt that the current circumstances in the USA in 2015 will afford Christians the exact same opportunities. If we Christians will stand firmly and unequivocally for the truth found in God’s Word, opportunities to join in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering, show faith in God, glorify God through costly praise and worship, and witness of Christ’s saving power will surely come to our very doorsteps. Given the current darkness in our land, our little lights will look brighter and brighter.
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