Yet again... Martyrdom

It is on my mind again. I sometimes wish I could push the thought of suffering for the Lord away, because it seems almost impossible to be counted worthy of suffering for Him here. Christians suffer... yes. But how often are we called to suffer FOR THE NAME of Christ? Called to truly renounce everything in order to suffer for Him?

The concept is so big that I can't get my mind around it. What is all this crap about preserving our American freedoms? Yes, we do take the blessing of freedom so for granted - that's the problem, perhaps. We lost sight of the goal... we don't treasure what we have... we don't long for the beauty of being in a place where there is no hindrance to worship and fellowship at all, not even our human flesh.

The war is still on. The battles are still being fought. But here in the "post-modern world" demons take the form of green paper and smooth talking politicians who promise change and reform. They masquerade as angels of goodness and light, "experts" who tell us what our itching ears want to hear, and prophets of false religion and "self-help." Instead of declaring tangible war on us, they woo us with voices that drip honey. We are a spiritually flabby people who care more about having a good-sized family and two cars in the garage than we care about actively fighting the battles of temptation, pride, lust, gossip, slander, greed, and ego. We care more about what our "holy huddles" think than what the God who gave up His very life for us thinks.

And they say Christianity is "just" a crutch.