A Description of 2nd Century Christians

Listen to this description of what 2nd century Christians were like, presented by the Christian philosopher Aristides to the emperor Hadrian in A.D. 125:

Those who oppress them [the Christians] they exhort [with the Word] and make them their friends. They do good to their enemies. Their wives, O King, are pure as virgins, and their daughters are modest. Their men abstain from all unlawful sexual contact and from impurity, in the hope of recompense that is to come in another world.

As for their bondmen and bondwomen, and their children, if there are any, they persuade them to become Christians; and when they have done so, they call them brethren without distinction.

They refuse to worship strange gods; and they go their way in all humility and cheerfulness. Falsehood is not found among them. They love one another; the widow's needs are not ignored, and they rescue the orphan from the person who does him violence. He who has gives to him who has not, ungrudgingly and without boasting. When the Christians find a stranger, they bring him to their homes and rejoice over him. When a baby is born to one of them, they praise God. If it dies in infancy, they thank God the more, as for one who has passed through the world without sins. But if one of them died in his iniquity or in his sins, they grieve bitterly and sorrow as over one who is about to meet his doom.

Such, O King, is the commandment given to the Christians, and such is their conduct. As men who know God, they ask from him requests which are proper for him to give and for them to receive; and because they acknowledge the goodness of God towards them, lo! on their account there flows forth the beauty that is in the world. The good which they do, they do not shout in the ears of the multitude, that people may notice; but they conceal their giving as a man conceals a treasure. They strive to be righteous as those who expect to behold the face of their Messiah and to receive from him the promises.

(taken from Richard Wurmbrand's book The Answer to the Atheist's Handbook, pp. 48-49)

This glorious description of the lives of 2nd century Christians shows that they were clearly obeying Jesus' words found in Matt. 5:16 -

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Let us examine ourselves and ask this question - If a philosopher from our age gave a detailed description of our lives, would the description resemble that of the 2nd century Christians, bringing glory to our wonderful Creator, or would it instead bring shame to the beautiful face of Christ?

Letter to the Addict

My heart breaks for you. You are dead. Yet you live as though you are alive and healthy. I just want to scream WAKE UP!! To try to wake you from your coma of drugs and lies before it is too late. Oh Jesus, I've never experienced anything like the agony of hopelessness and emptiness I see in an addict's eyes. You don't fool me, and you don't fool yourself. Your soul is writhing in misery. Why do you try to satisfy the deep longings you have with drugs, pornography, alcohol, anger, sex?? You are a child of God, made in His image to portray who He is to His creation. Such potential for beauty, but such capacity for evil. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. Oh, how I pray you would be broken! That your heart would break under the unbearable shame, guilt, fear, and pain you have. Pain and suffering do more to reveal the heart of a person than anything I've ever seen. They strip you of everything and leave you bare. You see how weak you really are. How you desire to be beautiful and clean and good. And how you can't! Oh the desperation to discover yourself. What a wretched person I am, you will say. But thanks be to God that He broke through the realm of His creation and entered as a man, Jesus Christ, and redeemed for Himself a people to be spotless and blameless through His blood. Spotless! Blameless! Guiltless! Do you see how your soul longs for this? Do you see that even after all your hands have wrought, He forgives? And that He does so by taking on Himself all the nasty, disgusting, embarrassing, humiliating, regretful, painful, evil things you have done?

Please. Look around you. Look up! We live in a world that screams "Glorious is our God." The sky sings of His beauty and expanse. The wind boasts of His mystery and power. But you are the loudest of all. Of all creation, only mankind was created in the image of God and shares in His emotions, spirit, desires, beauty, and glory. Please look deep into your heart. You were made for Him. You will find satisfaction in nothing else. Please consider my plea.

Dearest Jesus, may you open their eyes to your beauty, take away their despair, and satisfy their souls for the sake of your Name.

With tears and trust,
Rian