Christians who boldly live their faith write history
JOE MILLER JR.
1 Peter 3:13-22

Once upon a time, there was a slave named Jeconiah who lived in Asia Minor in a town called Ephesus about 85 AD, some 55 years after Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead. Jeconiah was a highly educated and a successful businessman when he was taken captive by the Roman army and sold as a slave.

His owner, a very wealthy Roman government official, recognized Jeconiah's obvious talents and eventually put him in charge of his household, farms and business operations. Jeconiah made his owner's business flourish, and his vast holdings grew.

Although a slave, Jeconiah lived a good life. His owner gave him a good place to live, ample food and clothing, allowed him to have a family, and never beat him, which was a common practice.

Jeconiah became highly respected and feared in the business community because of his acumen and astute handling of his owner's assets and resources. He bought low and sold high, lent money at high interest rates, and squeezed the most work out of the farm slaves while feeding them the least amount of food. His owner even took him along with him to worship at the various temples for Greco-Roman gods.

Jeconiah became a Christian and attended the church that Paul visited some years earlier (remember the letter to the Ephesians?). He began to read the Bible, listen to the teachings of the local preacher, and prayed fervently that he might follow God's will as manifest in Jesus Christ. He was originally attracted to Christianity because he identified with Jesus, who suffered much as Roman slaves suffered.

The more he tried to follow God's will, the closer he grew to God and the more he changed. His business dealing became much more Christ like. He began to treat the farm slaves very differently, he tried to make both parties win in business transactions, and he treated borrowers more humanely. Instead of being respected and feared he became respected and loved by fellow slaves and among all Ephesians.

Unfortunately, Jeconiah's owner was not supportive of his conversion. Although, he was still making a lot of money, he was making less. The owner confronted Jeconiah with his loss in revenue, and Jeconiah had the audacity to witness to him and try to convert him to Christianity. The owner had Jeconiah beaten severely, and Jeconiah was no longer treated as well. Over a period of years he did gain the grudging admiration of his owner because he recognized that Jeconiah practiced what he preached. Jeconiah walked the talk.

But the greatest outcome of Jeconiah's faith was the conversion of many of his fellow slaves and even some Roman citizens to Christianity. The church grew and prospered because Jeconiah lived his faith and was bold in telling others what Jesus had done for him.

The church has been around for 2000 years. Many people think it is because of great apostles and preachers. I think the history of the church was written by the bold faith of people like Jeconiah; Christians over the centuries who lived their faith in their everyday lives and passed their faith on from generation to generation. Are you a Christian like Jeconiah?

Joe Miller Jr. is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Newton.