In, but not of: The American Edition

The small group of seven believers gathered in a living room on a weeknight for fellowship around the Word and a time of prayer. One of the questions in the study guide was, "Living as a Christian in the world, how has it been difficult for you, or how have you suffered for trying to live out your faith?"

(Read their answers here:
The Livestock Edition
The Parents' Edition
The Funeral Edition
The Candy Shop Cemetery Edition)

And then they turned to me.

"In America, did you ever suffer for your faith?"

How do you explain living in the Bible belt, prayer before community club meetings, or the Christian fellowship that takes place within farming organizations?

(As opposed to the Shinto shrines found among the farms here:)

And I thought, "I am not worthy to be in this group."

"...anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

And I thought of Moses:

"He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward."

"And what more shall I say? ...the world was not worthy of them."