Where It Begins

It is obvious that the believers who read Peter's letter to the church of Asia Minor were under the heavy hand of persecution.  Verse 6 of the very first chapter says, "In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith...is tested by fire..."  As the letter unfolds the threat is declared even more emphatically.  These early Christians were not  threatened with the loss of their jobs, but the loss of their lives.  It is a hard thing for us to imagine.  If we think it is an impossible scenario then we need to look no further back than Dietrich Bonhoeffer's mid 20th century Germany.    

Fortunately, we do not face the kind of life and death persecution that the German Church, or the first century community of believers in Asia Minor faced, but this is not to say Christians are not persecuted because of their desire to follow Jesus.  Contemporary persecution is often first felt as the non believing culture dismisses those with faith because of their faith.  A dismissive spirit may not seem like much, but not to be taken seriously makes for a painful place to live.  Anyone who has tried to share a meaningful part of their journey with God only to have the one listening shrug their shoulders and change the subject knows how painful it is to be dismissed and to not be taken seriously as a person of value.    

This first form of persecution creates a division between those who choose not to believe and those who believe. It leads to a spirit where those of faith are belittled because they seek to live faithfully for the Christ.  To refer to the Word of God as an authority and guide for living is something which the non believing culture sees as as an obvious sign that the believer has lost touch with reality.   Some believers in our day have lost jobs, or family members, or friends, or value in certain circles and it all begins as the values of the Christian faith become the reason for not being taken seriously. The next step is to be declared to be out of touch and irrelevant.  Fortunately, the persecution we face is not a life and death persecution, but such is not the case in every part of our world.  It is currently happening.  It happened in the world of the Apostle Peter.  It happened in World War II Germany.  It can happen anywhere.  Anytime.