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| UPGs and Persecution: Shared Cause = Shared Solution (3/3) Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:00 AM PST This is the third of three posts examining the relationship between unreached people groups and persecution, represented respectively in the maps above. Make sure you catch the first and second posts in this series, too. We’ve found that at the root of both unreached people groups (UPGs) and persecution is sin. But let’s not stop at simply uncovering how the two are related. Due to their shared cause, the problems of UPGs and persecution also share a common solution: the gospel of Jesus. Simple, though not necessarily easy. As we have seen, people are born hating the only one that can cure them of their hatred. It seems that this “catch-22″ would lead to an inescapable cycle of lostness and unbelief that stops the spread of the gospel before it even begins. But in true gospel form, God uses this “insurmountable” obstacle to show himself strong, and despite humanly-unbeatable odds and unrelenting opposition, the gospel goes forth. God loved us and sent his Son to die for us while we were still enemies (Rm 5:10), and now he commands and empowers us to love our enemies too. In Christ, the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rm 1:16), whether friend or enemy. Both unreached people groups and persecution exist because of sin. Therefore, both UPGs and persecutors need the gospel. And while no sane man would ever involve himself in such a losing battle, God uses the foolish things to shame the wise. Rather than the light of Christ being snuffed out or swallowed up by the dark of the thick forest into which it proceeds, God sets the dense foliage ablaze to spread his light faster, stronger, and brighter than it ever would otherwise. As Christians suffer for their faith, their gospel witness to Jesus – the Suffering Servant – may at times become even more powerful, undercutting the very intent of the persecutors. Look at those maps one more time and see the red, orange, and yellow of the unreached and the persecuted. Now hear the thing for which the fiery colors are calling – the gospel. How will you respond? |
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