“The thing to bear in mind,” I told him, “is that God doesn’t mind troubling you. Not at all.”

“Well,” he said, “there must be some good reason behind it. It sure doesn’t make sense to me.”

I said, “So, your neighbor is harassing you.”

“Persecuting is more like it. He throws beer cans into my yard. He has stood in his front yard cursing me, not 15 feet away. And I mean, bad cursing, of the worst kind. I was embarrassed for the other neighbors to hear it. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

“What do you think is behind it?”

“I’ve tried to find out. I even called the guy who owned my house before me, to see if he had acted that way with him. He hadn’t. In fact, he said the neighbor was always easy to get along with. Made me wonder if we were talking about the same person.”

“Are you sure you haven’t done something to set him off?”

“I’ve racked my brain. I’ve even asked another neighbor, Bob up the street. Bob’s known him for years and just says he’s weird and I shouldn’t take it personally. It’s hard not to, especially since it just seems to be me.”

“I may have an idea. It’s very possible that it’s all about God.”

“Say what?”

I said, “I happen to know your neighbor. And he has issues with God. He had some bad experiences in Vietnam and took a lot of abuse. I don’t know if he’s drinking now, but he has had some difficulty with that in the past. His brother is a member of our church.”

“I don’t think I know him.”

“The point is he thinks his brother is a nutcase for having all those children and his wife home-schooling them, and them going to church all the time. Your neighbor is a nominal member of another faith, but I think we can safely say his religion is not the problem. If anything, it’s his lack of a religious faith.”

“And you say it’s about God?”

“Look at it this way. He’s angry at the Lord for a lot of things in his life, and since he’s unable to do anything to God, he takes it out on the nearest believer.”

“So, he’s taking his frustrations at God out on me. He is one mean dude.”

I said, “I don’t think he knows that this is what he’s doing. He’s not a very introspective person. I doubt if he has a clue why he hates you so much. It’s not about you; it’s about God.”

“Wow. That puts it in a whole ‘nother perspective.”

“It does. And it puts a burden on you. Because, if he is relating to you the way he would God, then he’s expecting you to relate to him as God would.”

“Maybe, burn down his house? Strike him with lightning?”

“I’m not joking. More like, turn the other cheek. Forgive him. Give to him. Pray for him. Show him incredible patience.”

“Oh yeah. Like I’m going to do that. It’s easy for him to treat me the way he would God, but I can’t treat him the way God would. I’m not God. My natural instinct is to go over and beat the tar out of him. I’m tired of this.”

“A good point. Therefore, you’ll have to take this matter up with the Lord and see what He wants to do about it.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Hey, this is serious business. In fact, you are the latest in a line of believers being called on to suffer for Jesus’ sake, a line stretching all the way back to the first century.”

“You mean, all those passages in the Bible that talk about us bearing the sufferings of Christ and telling us to rejoice when we are persecuted for Jesus’ sake, I can apply to myself? I thought that was just for the saints.”

“It is. You’re one. Not in the sense that some people think, someone you pray to and who grants miracles. Just a saint in the good old New Testament sense of every serious believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And, bear in mind that Jesus told us the saints would have to suffer for Him.”

“But why? It all seems so pointless.”

“God has His purposes, and usually we don’t see what they are until it’s all over. Consider, for instance, that God may want your neighbor to see what a genuine Christian looks like and how he behaves when he’s mistreated. So, He let you move in next door to this guy. That turns up the pressure on the neighbor–righteousness has a way of doing that when people are rebelling against God–and he takes it out on you. Meanwhile…”

“Meanwhile, I’m getting beat up by this guy?”

“Meanwhile, all of Heaven is sitting on the edges of their seats watching this skirmish, waiting to see how you’re going to behave, wondering if the Father knew what He was doing putting so much trust in you.”

“Like I’m in the arena and they’re cheering for me?”

“Maybe. I’m just saying this may be what God is up to. He hasn’t told me all His secret plans, if that’s what you’re wondering. But it may be a little like Job. At least on a smaller scale.”

“Meaning what?”

I said, “If you recall what happened in the first couple of chapters of Job, God wanted the devil to see how a true believer handled adversity. That’s what that was all about.”

“But that doesn’t seem fair to Job. Like God was using him.”

“Oh, He was using him. Just like He’s now using you.”

“So, what do you think I should do?”

“Take it as a compliment that God has so much faith in you. Then, stay close to Him. I mean, stay in the Word and on your knees. If you have friends with active prayer lives, share this with them and get them praying. You’ll be needing divine protection.”

“That seems to imply matters could get worse.”

“In the short run. Eventually, you’re going to look back on this as a blessing God sent your way. And you’ll be glad you were faithful.”

“You said I should take this as a compliment. Is that like where the early disciples rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the Lord? In the book of Acts, I think.”

“Acts 5:41, to be exact. I was reading it this morning.”

“This is scary. Will you pray for me?”

“I will. Father, thank you for the confidence you have in my brother here. You have called him into your service and girded him with the armor of the Lord, and now you have put him on the front lines. It’s a scary place, and he’s getting shot at. Please protect him, and keep him steadfast. Keep his eyes on you and not on himself, and most definitely, not on his neighbor. Thank you for the plans you have for that neighbor, and we pray for him. As you turn up the heat on that man, steady your son here. Continue loving and giving and serving through him. Thank you in advance for what you’re going to do. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”