Unjust Treatment in Prison
Guys, Sorry to hear about Stephen's difficulties. We know that there are no easy answers that will satisfy the brother in these kinds of situations, but scripture speaks to the situation.
It's not emphasized in modern evangelicalism, but the Bible clearly indicates that suffering will come as a result of our efforts to obey Christ and behave in a godly way. (Notice Matt 5:11 (below)- "when" not "if")
14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 1 Pet 4
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matt 5
Jesus said that if he was persectued, we would be also.
And I believe that the Lord wants us to follow Christ's example in such situations:
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 1 Pet 2:23
Don't fight or resist the circumstances- but submit, try to praise God, and patiently wait (and hope) that the Lord will bring relief- trusting always that he will bring justice to each and every situation, whether we are there to see it, or not. We in America aren't too good at submitting to unpleasant things- we all tend to want relief ASAP whenever we suffer.
This is hard for modern Americans (like me) to do- we have been conditioned by our culture to stand up for our "rights" etc. But the Lord clearly has said that we are to bear our cross, which I feel means to experience suffering for doing good. In fact, we cannot be his disciple unless we are willing to do so. --Very different from the "name it and claim it" teachings that are so prevalent.
cs
