ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

As Sheep to be Slaughtered

Romans 8:35-36
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

Paul has been teaching: "God is for us; He doesn't condemn; and He will give us every good thing because He has already given us Jesus." Then we come to these troubling verses as Paul begins to discuss some very unpopular subjects in modern Christianity: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and the sword (all of which Paul experienced). One might ask the question: "If God has all this good in store for us, then why do we have to experience the rest?" The answer is found in verse 36 of our passage today (which is a quote from Psalm 44:22): "Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
Take a moment to visualize sheep -- defenseless, easily separated from the herd and slaughtered. Many Christians have forgotten that our example is Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29): "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" Instead we come out confrontationally when attacked -- flexing our muscles physically, politically, and socially. But our imagery is all wrong. We are to be considered sheep.
Who is it that considers us as sheep to be slaughtered? I believe it is the attitude and purpose of a satanic world system to slaughter Christians in general. The history of the Church has many examples of the high cost to life and property as a result of following Jesus. Remember what Jesus said in John 15:18: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

It is certainly disturbing to read and hear about the many tragedies that have fallen upon our Christian brothers and sisters -- even in our present day. However, there is one thing we know: Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ! No matter what we're going through -- nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Pause for a moment now and thank the Lord for His peace even in turbulent times.

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