Imagine that you are living in first century Palestine. A few years earlier you had listened to Jesus of Nazareth preach and your heart was moved by his words. You saw him heal sick relatives and know that the power of God was at work in him. You came to believe that he was the promised Messiah and considered yourself his disciple. When he was crucified your heart broke and your hopes were dashed. Then others began to speak of Jesus rising from the dead. You spoke with Thomas, who told you of his interaction with Jesus about a week after the crucifixion. You came to believe that indeed, Jesus was alive and that in truth he was the Messiah, risen from the dead. Certainly, if Jesus could raise Lazarus from death, could not the Father raise Jesus from the dead?
How is this belief going to change you? How is it going to impact your life? Are you going to share your experiences with others? When Saul and other Jewish leaders start persecuting those in Palestine who consider themselves disciples of Jesus, are you going to stand up for your belief? Are you going to deny it? Are you going to pass on your faith? If the fate of Christianity depended on your courage, would Christianity have endured?
Imagine that you are living in the late Middle Ages in Europe. The Church is powerful. It has great wealth. Kings must take the popes and bishops into account in their political calculus, because of the influence that the Church has. The church has undertaken many building projects and needs money to fund the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica and the other Vatican buildings that are going up. Indulgences are being sold, which is contrary to Scripture. This practice worries you. Throughout Europe many of the bishops are simply the younger brothers or cousins of the local king as their only qualification for church leadership, with little in the way of virtue or theological knowledge. It was only recently, with the help of the Holy Roman Emperor, that the Church could free the papacy from the absolute control of the aristocratic and corrupt leading families of the city of Rome. Throughout Europe one Christian king seems to be at war with another Christian king constantly.
How is this situation going to challenge you? In so many ways what is going on in Europe and in the Church, is corrupt and sinful. You are a Christian of the period. Do you engage in these practices because everyone else is doing it? Do you keep your head down and hope to avoid what is going on? What do you do? If the fate of Christianity depended on your courage, would Christianity have endured?
Imagine that you are living in the first few decades of the 21st century. You were born into a family and culture that identified itself as Christian. The world is undergoing a great deal of change and things that seemed unchangeable to your parents and grandparents have changed so much in recent years that it is terribly confusing. The situation of humanity has improved in many ways. Diseases that once killed millions of people are under control for the most part with modern vaccinations and medicine. Communication and travel over vast distances is relatively easy. Enough food is grown that no one in the world needs to go to bed hungry.
Yet, on the negative side, in many parts of the world war and man-made disasters prevent many from having access to food and clean water. People who claim to believe in God fight with one another in defiance of their own Scriptures. Refugees fleeing war zones are turned away by people who claim to be disciples of a God who welcomes all, especially the stranger and refugee. Some talk of respecting life in the womb, yet disregard the lives of those who have been born, while others talk of respecting life for those who have been born but act as if the unborn child is non-human. The church is spread throughout the world and the saintly pope from Argentina is an inspiration. In many parts of the world the Church has become irrelevant. Church members and Church leaders are at odds much too often and trust in some leaders is strained. You are still moved by the Gospel message and want to see it lived out, as it seems to be our only hope in the long run.