Burning Incense

 You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am  John 13:13

I was with a pastor's prayer group recently, and the question asked by the leader was, "What comes to mind when you say or read that 'Jesus is Lord?' There was lots of great dialogue about this, and one of the things mentioned was the actions of the Roman emperor Nero.

The Romans had come to a place where deity was conferred upon the Emperor. People were commanded to worship him and make an offering to him by, among other things, burning incense to him. They were also to proclaim that the emperor, Caesar, was the supreme authority in their life. Christians, heavily persecuted at the time, when brought before the government authorities, were ordered to make this offering and burn the incense, while declaring that Caesar was indeed, "lord." 

This was a great test, but there was also a way around it. The Romans didn't care if His followers worshiped Jesus Christ. They could worship whoever they wished, but their first loyalty was to Caesar and Rome. A professing believer could be released if he would just acknowledge Caesar's supremacy, burn the incense, and then go on their way. Those who did had no further problems with Rome or Caesar. They could keep "going to church" and practicing their faith. Those who didn't however......These were to suffer persecution, prison, and very often, death. So, the choice before them was to burn the incense, give a public confession for Caesar, even if they didn't really mean it, and then go on "following Christ." However, for the fully devoted follower and disciple of Christ, this was no option. They could acknowledge no one else but Christ as the Lord and authority in their life....no matter the cost. And the cost, almost always, was very great. And here, 2000 plus years later, this same scenario is coming more fully upon us by the day. The question for each of us who call Him Lord is, "Will we, and where will we, burn incense to Caesar in our lives?"

Here in the west, being a Christian hasn't caused much discomfort to those who call Him Lord. That is changing at an accelerating rate. More and more and in increasing ways, believers are going to be asked to publicly demonstrate who really is their "lord?" Socially, economically, and politically, the question will be put to us. Who really is our Lord? Who is it that has our complete devotion? Whose word and authority do we obey and follow? Like the early church believers, we'll have an out, a way to compromise. We can still follow Christ, but we must make a public display that His authority doesn't exceed that of the world spirit and view. In short, we'll have to burn incense. When that time comes, and it will come to each of us and to every church fellowship, will we burn the incense on the altar of the world and the enemy in control of it? The cost of not doing so will be great. Does His Lordship and authority exceed all of the world's no matter what, or will we burn the incense? Think hard on this and pray even harder. Comfortable Christianity is passing away, if there ever was such a thing to begin with. It may come to choosing between the incense or the cross. When it does, which will you choose? Which will you go to?

Blessings,
Pastor O