The following guest post is written by Nahum Mulugeta - high school junior living in Houston, TX.  Despite being young in age, Nahum presents a well thought out perspective on how we should look at hardship and persecution.  Great stuff for an 11th grader!  If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

Christians are HARD CORE... at least that’s what they’re supposed to be. 

Recently, Fr Anthony blogged about “The Price of A Miracle” and the persecution we should expect as Christians.  Also, we witnessed the recent murder of the holy martyr Fr. Samaan Shehata (which was heart breaking) in Cairo on October 12.

That reminded me that in Christianity we in no way are supposed to be soft when it comes to our faith.  Although it takes real courageous stand up for what you believe in, as Christians we get our courage from our Lord Jesus Christ, who wasn’t hesitant to spread the word of His mercy. 

With prayer and guidance by the Holy Spirit, Christians have no reason why they shouldn’t pursue the faith and tell the truth about Our Lord, despite these excruciating circumstances that we live in today. The apostles overcame this world through the help of God, enlightening them and giving them courage.  That is also the case for the martyrs and saints of our Holy Orthodox Church. 

“What if the Holy Spirit isn’t enlightening me?” you might ask.  “Ask and you will receive…” (Matthew 7:7).  God will always listen.

The martyrs and saints showed this true Christianity, which in my opinion is hard core.  Compare this to the Christianity we - people who live in a FREE country – should exercise but don’t because we are too lazy to get up from our couches. No wonder people of other religions don’t consider us equals. We live the soft and complacent life, confirming to others that this is the life of a Christian when it should be the exact opposite. 

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

We know that we should live a life of true Christianity, so let’s stop procrastinating and be the salt of the earth. At the end of the day, if we won’t do it for ourselves, we should do it because we owe it to Him who died for all of us. 

So, will YOU stand with the Church and with the martyrs and saints today?