In as much as I do not want to be embroiled in the arguments making rounds on whether she was supposed to obey the court ruling and issue licenses to gays or resign or retire if the order was against her faith and conscience, it is worthy to note that this is part of the spiritual decline within the American system, even the worldly system for that matter, which I do not think has any hope of recovery again. It will only worsen as we draw closer to the end of the age.
When we posted here that we should pray for Kim, we did not expect that she would not go to jail. Instead we encouraged us to pray for her resolve, so that she would stand strong in her conviction till the end. What played out looks strange to some of us because as pastors and teachers, we do not takeout time to teach church history in our churches today. We rarely mention them in our preaching. But make no mistake about it, Christians were persecuted, killed and burnt at stake based on the framework of the 'laws' that were available in those days. Most of the stance Christians took in those days were 'unconstitutional', 'nonsensical', and 'unpopular'. This is because human reason and intelligence are often flawed in matters of faith. Standing for conscience and conviction is what we need today. Unfortunately most of us as Christian leaders do not even live by any conviction at all.
Most Christian leaders are silent today because they do not want to injure their reputation and some are afraid of the backlash they may receive. Many are even confused. Some have blamed her for insisting on her personal convictions while occupying a public office. Others dig into her past life of failed marriages, children outside wedlock etc. My answer to all these is that, her terrible past proves to us the enormous power of God's grace. Was the supreme court decision correct in the first place? Was it correct not to create a leeway for those who may have a different definition of marriage other than what they have defined to equally be free to exercise their own right? Or do they have a ploy to get rid of all Christians in the public service who hold fast to their convictions? Like I earlier said, I do not want to bother myself with all the arguments. She has shown virtue and all we can do is to stand by her and not to blame her. All her staff have caved in except her son for now. Persecution of Christians does not start with the despondent extreme attacks, it all starts like this and then degenerates.
I want to conclude this post by quoting Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), a prominent Protestant pastor who spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps:
"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."
Source: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392
Keep this post in your mind because the situation is not going to get better for genuine Christians any where in the world. We must prepare our minds for the on coming persecution which will come upon the church all over the world where it has not started yet. We will be called bigots, extremists etc. Let's learn how to stand together and encourage one another.
Please keep praying for her and other Christians. May her resolve be a challenge to all of us to begin to stand fast in our convictions and begin to have something we are living for.
It's important I share this also with my readers. Kim has been released from prison after spending six days in jail. The same "U.S. district court judge who found her in contempt said he was
satisfied licenses were being issued in accordance with a U.S. Supreme
Court decision".
