Bridge to Esther

Esther 8:17

What Kind of Christian Are You?

17. And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever, or wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. How great their relief must have been when they heard the new law proclaim that they would be able to defend themselves against any attack. And many of the other people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them, or filled their hearts.

Something to think about:

Once there was a king named Charlemagne, who forced his subjects to become Christians. He gave them a choice: either I baptize you or I behead you. Since the people didn’t want their heads to be chopped off, they quickly were baptized. As a result, the Christian church grew really big in a short time. But what kind of Christians do you think many of them were?

Is it possible that something like that happened in Persia after the new law written by Mordecai became known? It seems that because many people were afraid of the Jews, they joined the Jewish nation. That meant they would have also joined their worship services. It seemed safer to be part of them. Do you think they were very sincere about serving God?

At other times in history, and in many places in the world, authorities kill or punish people if they become a Christian. That is actually still happening in many countries today. In North Korea, for example, thousands of Christians are suffering and dying in prison camps. In spite of that, each day people in that country join the Christian church. What kind of Christians do you think such men, women or children are?

Then there are many children who grow up attending church. Their parents and grandparents are faithful church members, and they take their children to church every Sunday. These parents read the Bible at home with their family and possibly send their children to a Christian school or home-school them. These children live like obedient children and nicely go to church every Sunday. They do what they have been told. What kind of Christians do you think such children often are?

Of these different groups, it is the Christians in places like North Korea that most give the impression of being sincere. They know that confessing Christ as their King could cost them everything, even their lives.

Does your Christianity cost you anything? Do you feel shallow when you compare yourself to persecuted Christians? If you travel on the bus to school, do you show respect to God by rejecting unclean jokes if they are told there? Perhaps you bike to school as a group; can people see on your behavior that you are Christians? Do you stand with the children who don’t want to join in nasty or dirty talk? If you knew that the police or soldiers would arrest you if you went to church, would you still attend, or would you pretend to be sick that day? If your government announces that anyone with a Bible in his schoolbag will be beaten in front of everybody else, what would you do? Are you willing to give up your rights in order to love God and others around you?

In other words, what evidences can be seen in your daily life and choices which make it clear to others that you are a real Christian? It is easy to deceive others, but it is impossible to deceive God. And He is the One asking the questions!