On Sunday we followed along as the Holy Spirit, through the pen of John, revealed the unfolding faith of a man born blind. It was a humorous series of exchanges between the man, his parents, and the Pharisees, but it was also a serious confrontation with real consequences. By the end, the formerly blind man had been forced to choose sides. Having sided with Jesus, he faced immediate separation from his own culture and disapproval from his own parents. 

It can come as a shock when, despite having done nothing wrong, we find ourselves outed as being on the wrong side of history. How quickly a choice to flee sin and turn to Christ is reframed as a moral sin. Former friends and people in positions of influence over us imply that faithfulness to God’s Word is bigotry, judgmentalism, intolerance, imperialism, patriarchalism, and many other words either too long or too offensive to pronounce. 

It will always be wrong when this happens, but it is expected. Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born shortly before the outbreak of WWI and died by execution at the hands of the Nazi party near the end of WWII. He saw firsthand how quickly a group of people could be led into extreme animosity and violence that would have been unimaginable until it actually happened. He also saw how easily the blatant hate of this world could be turned against the people of God. 

In his classic work, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich wrote: 

The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the division which rend cities and homes. Jesus and his disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading the nation astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the peace. The disciples will be sorely tempted to desert their Lord. 

Notice how opposition to Christ inevitably comes with personal, social, and political overtones. Jesus is a threat not only to the sin we harbor in our hearts, but to the schemes of Satan that control cultures and bodies politic. How are we to mount a clear-eyed response in the face of blind opposition? 

Dietrich goes on to write elsewhere in his book: 

Christian love draws no distinction between one enemy and another, except that the more bitter our enemy's hatred, the greater his need of love. Be his enmity political or religious, he has nothing to expect from a follower of Jesus but unqualified love. In such love there is not inner discord between the private person and official capacity. In both we are disciples of Christ, or we are not Christians at all. 

Love is not a weak thing, but it is sacrificial. Love doesn’t compromise, but it is compassionate. Love sometimes wounds, but it never despises. Love is incredibly inefficient in bringing about visible change, but it is the most potent long-term force in the universe, for it is the motive behind the Gospel itself. 

In an age of peace, the disciples of Jesus should be known most for our love of the brethren. In an age of hostility, we are likely to be known first for loving our enemies. To know the love of God, and to extend it to those who may hate us – this is the Christian Persecution Response Plan.