Unyielding Devotion

Ezra 3:1-3

Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. Then they began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the Lord each morning and evening. (Ezra 3:3)

THE PEOPLE OF JUDAH spent years resettling the land after it had been devastated by the Babylonians, and it wasn’t an easy process. Local populations had continued to live there in the captives’ absence, and they understandably resented the exiles’ return more than a century later. To Ezra and his peers, their project of rebuilding Jerusalem and its Temple was the work of God. To the locals, it was an intrusion.

Ezra and his fellow returnees encountered a lot of opposition, and they could have cowered under the threats of attack. Instead, they pushed through their fear, rebuilt the altar on the Temple site, and reinstituted daily sacrifices. They lived under the conviction that God was on their side, that trials and challenges did not represent a lack of his favor, and that they would eventually succeed in reestablishing their worship in Jerusalem. They valued their faith over their reputations, their hardships, and even their lives. They pressed ahead in uncertain times, enduring opposition for the sake of their calling.

We are given the same task, even in very different circumstances. Most Christians in many parts of the world, though certainly not all, do not face life-threatening persecution. The worst resistance most of us will have to endure is a little harassment and some negative attitudes here and there. Even so, we feel the pressure from a culture that historically may have grown out of a Christian background but now expresses contempt for some of Christianity’s core values. We know we are not always perceived well.

Like the returning exiles of Judah, don’t let the perceptions of others influence your devotion. Continue to worship as you normally would, in spite of negative attitudes and cultural interference. Enduring faithfulness makes a powerful statement to a world that has lost its sense of absolutes. Your persistence is a testimony of truth, even when some consider it a relic of a less-informed age. It honors God in a culture that needs to see him.

{Lord, my faith does not depend on public opinion. It depends on your eternal truth. Anchor me in the realities of your Kingdom, even when my beliefs go against the grain of my culture. Let me honor you always. Amen.