A series of questions...
Suppose for a minute you had no rights as a Christian. You could not speak the name of Jesus under penalty of imprisonment and death. What would come of your faith? Would it cease? Could someone take it from you?
So you have to have a right to be a Christian? You have to have a right to pray in school? The 10 Commandments need to be posted on a courthouse? If they are taken away, does that make the 10 Commandments any less valid? If taken away, are they then meaningless because they are not in the public eye? Were they intended to be a placard or a way of life?
What if we had no voice, but all we could do was to live out lives exemplifying Christ? What if the only way we could show Jesus was through service? What if our freedom for Sunday gatherings was taken away? Would our faith diminish because of no place to meet, or is Jesus something bigger than a place or a voice? Does Jesus become less real in you if He can't be talked about around you? Would there be a noticable difference in your actions if the only way you could express your faith was through action?
What did the writer of Ecclesiastes mean when he said "You are God in heaven, and here am I on earth...so I'll let my words be few?" Does reverence toward God mean fewer words and greater action? What would the world think if we willingly gave up talking about our faith and began demonstrating it instead? Would there be less hypocritical accusations toward the church?
My point: Faith is something within...lived out...sometimes without words...heavy in witness through actions...not for self justification but love for others...it doesn't need to have rights...it can survive without them...and it fact, at times, it grows without them too.
