No greater than Christ

One of the most challenging events that Rome had encountered or rather Europe had encountered was when the time of dark ages took place. There were various groups of tribes who attacked Rome and led the Western part of it to downfall. Some groups which attacked Rome were: The visigoths, vikings, huns. Aside from the attacks that Rome faced, there was also a dreadful plague which nearly killed half of the population of Europe. The plague was then called the "Bubonic plague." There were also rulers who rule the Roman empire and lead the productivity and glory back to Rome. One of the rulers who somehow caused me to be disappointed but glad at the same time was Charlemagne, who was a grandson of Charles the Hammer. They were Franks.

Charlemagne brought  back the liveliness of  Rome. He brought up the economical progress of the land, education, literature, and arts. These contributions made the Rome productive. One good thing about his reign was, he protected the preservation of Christianity but the sad part was he persecuted the pagan people who refuse to be converted to Christianity. In fact, it came to the point when pagan worshipers were murdered brutally. The murder was then called, "Bloody verdict of Verden."

As I've learned these information, I was terrified and could not believe that not only Christians can be persecuted but also non-Christians. I feel so sad knowing this, because it seemed like there was no giving importance to the lives of other people especially those who had not known Christ as their Lord and Savior. But whatever my reaction might be, I could not judge those rulers. all I know is that, those events happened, not accidentally, I believe, but with purpose, still in line to God's will.

As I relate the lesson to my self, I have pondered and evaluated how I am doing with my commitment to God regarding reaching out to those who have not yet known Christ as their Lord and Savior. Since the revelation of Christ Jesus as being the Messiah, death and life have been fighting, good and evil are competing with one another. What I mean is that the moment a person becomes a believer, Satan finds ways to lead another person to the path to hell. I feel like Christians really have to share the gospel not with procrastination but with motivation because everyday the spiritual battle becomes stronger. What's happening in the world right now are  events which should give Christians the motivation to continue sharing the gospel not escaping from doing it. While Christians go to church there are people outside who are dying being uncertain of their eternal destination. It is something that I grieve and am happy for. Happy because I can freely worship God; grieving because there are people outside who are seeking for the truth until they die being shot by a gun, blown by the bomb, not knowing Christ as their Lord and Savior.

I have learned that whatever challenges we, Christians, face, we must endure it by the grace of God and strength of Christ. Dark ages, calamity, crisis, drought, starvation, poverty, persecution, war, death can not hinder us from moving forward toward the goal and they can not hinder us from continuing the mission Christ has left for us to do, to reach out to the lost. These challenges that we face right now are eye-openers for us Christians. Challenges do not cease to come, and so we must not cease to go share the gospel knowing that Christ does not stop on loving us. Also, God's love for us overflows from us to other people who lack love. He is with us in this journey.