"How can a young
man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."
The Edict of Toleration finally ended the horrid persecutions of early Christians under the rule of Rome. For the first time, the church experienced good benefits and better treatment from the state. This calls for a celebration, right? Wrong. Persecution did kill a lot of Christians and spilled a lot of innocent blood but it also brought with it martyrs and apologists. When it ended, a different group of people crept into the church. What at first appeared to be a blessing was actually an obscure cancer that at first invaded slowly until it grew and corrupted the church.
I learned that under the Edict of Toleration, many politically ambitious people who were not interested with religion, and still in the practice of paganism joined the church. This mixture led to the corruption of the church within. Because of the interference of the state, church leaders, who were themselves half-hearted to the cause of Christ, compromised with paganistic practices. Distortions of the teachings the Bible taught became more prevalent and persecution inside the church dominated. Instead of brotherly love, brethren were killing each other because of wounded pride and inability to focus on what really is important. In this light, I learn that persecution is inevitable. No matter how hard we try to stop it, it will surely happen. God's word warned us in advance and it also called us to stay pure even in the midst of corruption.
How does this look in my personal life? This shows that I have to accept trials and persecutions in life and see them as necessary evil that God uses for greater purposes. This also means that in order to stay pure, I must not be a half-hearted follower with ulterior motives, but rather stay connected to the Word of Truth that will daily cleanse me from corruption that may threaten and creep in.
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