no.266 140121 Thank you for the challenging idea

Red velvet cheesecake brownie - my dad thought it was meat… I see where he's coming from.

Recently, I've been reading two books - "The meaning of marriage" by Tim Keller and "Radical" by David Platt. I read the first book before I go to bed, and the latter one, during my break when I'm at work. I want to share a little bit of what I've been learning and my thoughts as I read Platt's book.

I've only read the first two chapters, but I'd say it is very challenging. I too feel that I've been living such a comfortable Christian life here in the North America - I don't have to worship in a dark basement and I don't' have to hide my Bible from others. It's not a life or death situation being a follower of Christ in Toronto. I talk about church all the time at work, and there is definitely no need of getting all anxious and fearful of getting caught, which could perhaps lead to death. It's so easy to forget that our Christian brothers and sisters in certain countries where Christianity is prohibited. Despite the fact that they are in incomparable circumstances than we do, they still love God and they're eager to learn more. They are risking their lives for Jesus. I'm not saying that their love for God is more passionate and deeper than ours. However, we should all think about one thing. This is making me curious about myself and fellow Christians in North America. Would I have the courage to say that I'm a Christian and I love God if Christianity is outlawed where I live? How many people would still say that they are Christians if one day, we no longer have the freedom of religion? Will I still be able to say out loud ever so confidently "I am a follower of Jesus"? Will you be able to say that? Even if our lives depended on it?

We shouldn't take this comfort and freedom for granted. Even more so, we should not forget about Christians on the other side of the world. We must keep them in our prayers regularly and we should also pray for ourselves that God may challenge us and that we don't get too comfortable with the environment we're in. I also pray that we're not just Christians on the outside with ours lips only, but truly from our hearts.