Fear Not

Imagine opening up a letter you received and reading the following, "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation." I suspect you'd find it pretty unsettling, so much so that your eyes might glaze over and you'd begin to think, "Is this for real? Who sent this to me?" And when you glance back down at the letter you notice the words that follow, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."

I can speak with confidence that not one of us in the West has ever opened up our mailbox and found such a letter. But at some point, near the end of first century, the church at Smyrna did (Revelation 2:8-10). Jesus, through the apostle John, was sending a message to this group of believers so that they would be prepared for what was about to transpire. They had already suffered at the hands of some "who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan," but there was yet more to come. Despite the trepidation that they would have initially felt, Jesus told them not to fear. A reward awaited their faithfulness.

In a similar vein, Jesus warns all of his followers to be prepared to suffer on account of him (Luke 12:4-5). And, as he offered to Smyrna, he tells of the reward that awaits those who look beyond the persecutor's threats to the final reckoning. On that Day he will confess the names of those who have acknowledged him before men no matter what had been threatened: "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8). There, in the courts of heaven, before the judgment seat of God, the roll call of persevering saints will be read and the "Well done, good and faithful servant" pronounced.

The prevalence of such language in the New Testament is to be taken seriously, even by us who live in relative peace. We might never find ourselves in such peril, but there's a good chance that we will be treated with contempt because of our belief in the biblical Jesus. The temptation at that point will be to deny him so that we might not have to suffer scorn. This we must not do. What's the worst they can do? Kill us? This we are not to fear, for we are known by the one who has power to cast into hell. He will uphold our cause even as he lifts our names up before the throne of God.