Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word.
I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil.
I hate and detest falsehood but I love your law.  Psalm 119:161-163

I recently read Tortured for Christ, an autobiography of Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor severely persecuted for his faith by the Communist regime. This psalm makes me think of the believers under communism – how the persecution and darkness made God’s light shine so much brighter to them.

In America, Christians are sometimes offended by anything that infringes on this being a “Christian” nation. The New Testament was not written in or to a Christian nation. Instead, the early Christians flourished under the pagan Roman rule, impacting the world not with their political arguments, but with their love. I pray that we, too, will focus more on shining like stars than complaining about the darkness.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life – in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. Philippians 2:14-16