There is clarity in a group once it has been targeted for persecution. That clarity, in turn, becomes unity. The persecution of Peter and John at the hands of the Sadducees, priests and religious leaders in Acts 4:1-22 illustrated that process nicely. Peter and John were being detained and mistreated by those leaders because they had just healed a man. Ultimately, those leaders had to let the two Apostles go because they could not discredit the healing the two had so obviously performed. They also feared the ire of the people who had been moved by the miracle they had just witnessed.
Upon their release, Peter and John immediately took this information back to their Christian community. That community realized with remarkable clarity that the persecution of their brothers was evidence of a prophetic psalm being fulfilled through them! So they lifted their voices together in unity and quoted Psalm 2:1-2. They then prayed in agreement for boldness, and the Holy Spirit once again filled them. Because of this, they continued to speak the Word of God fearlessly (Acts 4:23-31)! Moreover, their community bonds also further solidified in light of that persecution. So much so that they began to share their wealth voluntarily, holding all things in common (Psalm 4:32-37).
Persecution has a way of honing true believers of any group toward their shared cultural goals. Interestingly, Satan has figured this out. This is why Christians in the modern developed world are so often NOT persecuted to any significant degree. The demonic world understands that if they keep Christians comfortable, generally well fed, and mostly trouble free, that their prayers will largely be (if they pray at all) for small things like the furtherance of their comforts, or for an undefined “happiness,” or even for base pleasures, rather than for God’s will or the magnified glorification of the Author of Life. This is why the bible so sternly warns against being committed to the pleasures of the world (Luke 8:14, 1 John 2:15-17). Such commitment can make a person or a group impotent. It is this same principle that holds people to jobs they hate. A person won’t leave a job to do something they’d love more because they’re in love with their salary, or their benefits, or their comforts, or the status afforded by their compensation packages. Academics who study the workplace call these packages “golden handcuffs,” or “gilded cages.” But golden handcuffs are still handcuffs, and gilded cages are still cages. That early Christian community was not yet shackled by the comforts of the world, but instead was emboldened to carry the image of Christ in both words and deeds!
Persecution and difficulty breaks bonds, hones goals, galvanizes belief, brings clarity to values, and forges solidarity in the committed. If you speak the Word of God, you will at some point be persecuted in some way. When was the last time you felt persecuted?
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