On August 21, Mohamed Ali Garas, a prominent Somali church leader and convert from Islam, was beaten by Muslims in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to International Christian Concern.
Mohamed was walking to his new home when two Somali Muslim men struck him on the head with a wooden club and knocked him to the ground. The men continued hitting and kicking him in the chest and stomach. Mohamed had fled to Ethiopia from Somalia in 2005 after Somali authorities attempted to arrest him. He had recently moved to a new neighborhood in Addis Ababa because Somali Muslims threatened to attack him. At last report, Mohamed was being treated at a local hospital for his injuries, which included a damaged kneecap.
In parts of the world like Somalia and Ethiopia, identifying oneself as a follower of Jesus Christ is more than a life-changing experience. It can be harmful or fatal. Yet people like Mohamed Ali Garas are willing to lay their lives on the line. The reason: they are convinced that there is no other way to experience peace with God except through faith in Jesus Christ. They are convinced of this truth that they are willing to risk everything—their jobs, their family, their home, their very lives—because of this faith in Christ.
Contrast that with the freedom and liberty that followers of Jesus Christ find in the United States. Identifying oneself as a follower of Jesus is not a life-threatening activity. In most instances, identifying oneself as a Jesus follower in the United States creates practically no reaction or response at all.
What does get many Americans upset is when Jesus' followers stand up and live out their convictions. Those followers are labeled as "extremist," or "fanatical," or "fundamentalist." But as long as those followers keep their convictions to themselves, and not bring them out for public consumption…as long as those followers keep those convictions "personal views," and not try to advocate a public embrace of those views, they are somewhat tolerated.
But should those Jesus followers stand up and emphatically declare that those convictions of theirs are worth protecting in the public square, they become unpopular. Shunned. Criticized in various forms of media. Not exactly getting clubbed and kicked, is it?
Why is it, then, that more Jesus followers in America don't stand up and identify themselves with Christ? Why is it that instead of emphatically declaring that Jesus Christ is the only way to experience peace with God, instead of standing up and declaring that the Bible is the only standard for living that works for a society, too many American Christians try to separate their "personal beliefs" from their "public policy?"
How many times have we heard from our government's elected officials, "Personally, I believe this viewpoint is right and good, but it should not be public policy."
Huh?
If the viewpoint is right enough and good enough for you, it should have sufficient value to be right and good for everyone else. If it's good enough for you to use as a life authority, it should be good enough for all of society to use.
The political position of, "Personally, I'm pro-life, but I don't want to impose my personal beliefs on everyone else," is tired. It's cowardly. It's inconsistent. I'm tired of politicians who lack the courage to vote their convictions because of their fear of political fallout.
Now I am learning that here in California, that we have legislators—legislators who claim to be in favor of strengthening traditional family values for the sake of children—who had actually voted NO on Proposition 8 in 2008. The reason: although personally believing that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman, that government has no business making a law protecting that relationship.
Cowardly. Inconsistent. Disingenuine.
I have yet to hear any politician say, "Personally, I'm against raising taxes, but I don't want to impose my personal beliefs on everyone else." That's because no one would really believe the first part of that statement when that same politician votes to contradict that statement.
It is high time that every follower of Jesus in America—whether they be a pastor, an elected official, an educator, or anyone in any position—gain the courage to live out their convictions in their everyday lives. The time of keeping those convictions private is over.
When there are brothers and sisters in Christ like Mohamed Ali Garas risking their very lives in order to identify with Him worldwide, it is simply embarrassing to see the church in America try to compartmentalize their lives into the secular and the sacred. Now the very soul of America is in danger of decomposing to the point where God will remove His grace and mercy from it. We can no longer keep our views and values to ourselves.
The church has shirked its responsibility to be America's conscience for far too long. It is high time that the church—every member of the church—gain the courage to live out its convictions at this critical hour.
