It’s sure hard to be a Christian in 2017. Our culture doesn’t share our values and our lives are so busy, it’s hard to fit the Lord into our schedules.
It was hard to be a Christian in 1914. A war to end all wars brought new kinds of misery and suffering on humanity never before imagined. More Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in the 19 that preceded it.
It was hard to be a Christian in 1862. Brothers in Christ in blue were shooting at brothers in Christ in gray. The issues of government, slavery, and politics tore the church in two.
It was hard to be a Christian in the early 1600s. If your understanding of the Bible didn’t match the king of England’s, it might cost you your life.
It was hard to be a Christian in 1517. Corrupt church governments sold indulgences, trafficked in ancient relics, and were morally bankrupt.
It was hard to be a Christian before 1455. Prior to Gutenberg’s movable type printing press, almost nobody had access to a copy of the Bible.
It was hard to be a Christian in 1320. The church was so polluted that Dante Alighieri wrote a story of a trip through hell, and he dedicated several entire “circles” of torment to the prevailing church leaders.
It was hard to be a Christian in the late 600s and early 700s. Mohammed’s followers were spreading Islam at an unimaginable rate.
It was hard to be a Christian prior to 311 when Constantine’s Edict of Toleration was passed, legalizing Christianity and recognizing it as a legitimate religion exempted from persecution.
It was hard to be a Christian before the end of the first century, when the New Testament was completed and widely distributed.
It was hard to be a Christian in AD 50, when the Jewish establishment tried to delegitimize belief in Jesus, the Judaizing party tried to neuter the gospel, and the Roman government and culture delighted in polytheism, pedophilia, and temple prostitution.