It's Hard to Be Like Jesus

You may be interested about this essay.

source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2005/003/1.42.html

Why would anyone choose to follow a God who promises more hardship, not less? Exposing the myth of a prosperity gospel.
By Philip Yancey

In my visits to churches overseas, one difference from North American Christians stands out sharply: their view of hardship and suffering. We who live in an age of unprecedented comfort seem obsessed with the problem of pain. Skeptics mention it as a major roadblock to faith, and believers struggle to come to terms with it. Prayer meetings in the U.S. often focus on illnesses and requests for healing. Not so elsewhere.

I asked a man who visits unregistered house churches in China whether Christians there pray for a change in harsh government policies. After thinking for a moment, he replied that not once had he heard a Chinese Christian pray for relief.

| More |