Can you imagine the scene in Matthew 26:38-42? When Jesus says, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death”. And when Jesus begged the Father if this cup cannot be taken away. Can you imagine Jesus was praying to the Father and he was literally sweating blood? Is there any way you can take this cup from me? How in the world is any dad look at his son who is begging him and begging him so bad that he was sweating blood?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Do you remember the moment when you “got it?” When you first realized you loved God with your heart, mind, and soul?
Dalam sejarah Roma, bisa jadi tahun 64 adalah tahun paling kelam. Kita mungkin sudah pernah baca buku sejarah, orang-orang Kristen pertama di Roma dibunuh dan disiksa. Para rasul dan martir disalibkan terbalik. Apa motif di balik kebrutalan ini? Orang Kristen jaman dulu jumlahnya tidak lah sebesar sekarang, mereka adalah kaum minoritas. Orang-orang pagan menyalahkan orang Kristen atas setiap bencana yang ada (banjir, kekeringan, kelaparan, wabah, gempa bumi, dll), semuanya adalah salah orang Kristen yang telah menghina pada dewa (baca: berhala) mereka.
Mungkin dalam bayangan kita sekarang, “Ah, dibunuh itu paling seperti adegan di film-film perang jaman dulu, dibunuh pake pedang”. Padahal sebenarnya jauh lebih keji. Tercatat di buku sejarah, orang-orang Kristen itu dibakar, dijadikan obor hidup buat jadi penerangan, dijadikan santapan binatang buas di sirkus. Hal ini berlangsung tiga tahun, sampai tahun 67. Cerita ini adalah catatan kelam dalam perjalan orang Kristen.
Yang mengagetkan, hal serupa terjadi di Indonesia belakangan ini. Barusan saya melihat video insiden Cikeusik (catatan: jangan lihat videonya kalo ngga tahan liat kekerasan/darah/mayat). Orang-orang Ahmadiyah dipukulin seperti binatang, orang tak bernyawa pun masih dipukulin. Biadab dan terkutuk! Bagaimana mungkin bisa terjadi, bahkan di video itu ada polisi. Menyedihkan. Tak hanya aparat, tapi rakyat pun mengebiri hak kebebasana beragama. Ahmadiyah dibunuhin, gereja dibakar. Kerusuhan antar umat beragama gak pernah beres di Indonesia. Kayanya kok seperti bom waktu yang tunggu meledak. Dan pada akhirnya bisa ditebak, kaum minoritas yang selalu jadi korban.
Oh Indonesiaku.
It is not wrong for you to depend on your “Elijah” for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, “I cannot continue without my ’Elijah.’ ” Yet God says you must continue.
Alone at Your “Jordan” ( Kings 2:14 ). The Jordan River represents the type of separation where you have no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one else can take your responsibility from you. You now have to put to the test what you learned when you were with your “Elijah.” You have been to the Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are facing it alone. There is no use in saying that you cannot go— the experience is here, and you must go. If you truly want to know whether or not God is the God your faith believes Him to be, then go through your “Jordan” alone.
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As shipwrecked seamen yearn for morning light
And though the storms may come,
I will lift my eyes in the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives