I have been in Romania for about 5 days now and we have seen some amazing things. Romania is unlike anywhere I have ever been before...it is a unique mix of European, Latin, and Slavic. The language is strangely familiar yet mysteriously foreign. The Latin base of the language has enabled me to pick up on a few words and phrases.
Many of the elements of modern Romania seem to be a reaction to the intense Soviet rule present for so many years. As a part of the Soviet Union, Romania was subject to harsh government rule and persecution. This persecution was especially focused on the eradication of religion, intellectual communities, or any other perceived threat to the government's totalitarian rule. In 1989, Romanian erupted in riots and protests that eventually spread to other nations resulting in the fall of the great Soviet Union. This brand of violent communism existed in Romania from roughly 1945 to 1989. During this time, all churches were banned and Christianity was made illegal. By forcing the Christians to conform, many thought that the faith would soon disappear within Romanian borders.
On Sunday I had the privilege of worshiping along my Romanian brothers and sisters. I am always deeply touched by experiencing worship in another language and culture. By hearing the saints cry out to Christ in an entirely different tongue, I am reminded of how unimportant I am. God is not American. The Holy Spirit is not restricted to North America. I am a part of something bigger...something better. The missionaries here have been speaking of the importance of "kingdom thinking." Rather than thinking of Americans, Baptists, or any other group, we must think about the overarching KINGDOM that God is building in the hearts of men and women throughout the globe. Nations will fall, churches will divide, but the kingdom of God is the only thing that will last for eternity.
In both church services we attended on Sunday there was a special time of "free prayer" for the entire congregation. This time was free for anyone in the congregation to pray aloud while the rest of the believers would prayerfully agree with shouts of "Amin!" In the night service I was struck by the beauty of one certain prayer. A few rows to my right sat an old man. This man looked weathered, experienced, and tired from a full and hard life. His age told me that this man lived through World War 2, the Communist regime, the Revolution, and the advent of the information age and internet. Slightly hunchbacked, this man slowly stood and began praying with an energy uncharacteristic on his age. I mean PRAYING. I listened to his cries ascending towards heaven in an unknown tongue. His face wrinkled with passion and I realized I didn't need to know what he was saying. Raising his voice, the congregation joined in with prayers of their own and cries to God. As this precious saint began to weep, I was tackled by the beauty of this moment. The goal of many secularists and politicians has been to stamp out Christianity. The aggressive athiests of our days theorize that through greater learning and intellectual stimulation Christianity will become as irrelevant as the Greek and Roman myths and deties. As I was sitting in that small Romanian congregation, it hit me that this line of thinking was not new. In Acts, a wise rabbi by the name of Gamaliel offered this advice concerning the new radical faith of the apostles:
"Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished and all who followed were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these man and let them alone; for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" (Acts 5:35-39)
Probably born right before the Communists took over Romanian, this elderly man had known Christianity as illegal for most of his adult life. Rather than embracing secularism as expected, this man was a part of a large underground movement of faith that outlasted the regime that targeted them. Watching this man pray I knew that his faith was real. This man had tasted persecution but had persevered. Our faith began as a small radical movement consisting mainly of poor Jewish fisherman. Throughout the millennium we have seen this small movement shake the world to it's very core. Christianity spread to three continents in 100 years. About two centuries later, this faith had defeated the strongest empire on the face of the earth and became the official religion of Rome. The Church can and will persevere. So fear not for the Church brethren. Fear not impending persecution. Fear not irrelevance. Fear not governments. Fear not the recession.
Throughout the entire world there exists pockets of dedicated believers enduring the kind of persecution that ripped through Romania. One day, when we are able to travel freely through places like Saudia Arabia and North Korean, we will no doubt be encouraged and changed by the fierce prayers of saints stronger than us. Saints that persisted through it all. Saints like this man.
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