4 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. 5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.
6 “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
Luke 12:4-7
Dear God, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway is verse 6, but I lose a lot if I don’t go back and pick up what Jesus said in verse 4: “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body..” Hold it! What? I want to think of that verse just pertaining to my daily needs: bread, shelter, etc. But Jesus is talking about something on a whole other level that I as a 21st century American don’t consider.
Yesterday at lunch, I was with a group of people and there was a Chinese national at the table who is now a U.S. citizen. Someone at the table asked her what the best thing is about American and she said, “Freedom.” Then she went on to tell of the draconian restrictions on some of her family members in China over the last few Covid years. First, it made me think that those who claim China released Covid-19 on the world intentionally discount how much the virus has cost China itself. But then I thought about how we, as Americans, just have not idea what it means to suffer. We consider a mask requirement or a negative Covid test requirement is a persecution too difficult to bear. We think our churches should be exempt from restrictions for crowd gathering that any other part of society (movie theaters, restaurants, etc.) is subject to.
But Jesus takes all of that stuff off of the table in this story. He takes it all of the way to death and says, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body…”
Father, Holy Spirit, as I say these words from Act 20:24, I really, really hope I mean them. Quoting Paul, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. The task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Help me to live those words, even in my conversations today.
In Jesus’s name and through his life, death, and resurrection I pray,
Amen
Emails to God 
audeliadelacruz1
August 9, 2022 at 2:57 pm
You are absolutely right John. What we take for granted, and feel that we suffer for the little rules we are asked for, is nothing compared to other world countries that are experiencing worse. Her in the USA we still have a freedom of voice and choice, where in some, even women cannot look up and be seen.
I pray that God helps me see the little things that bother me and I feel I suffer for, is nothing compared to what Jesus suffered.