Be Strong and Play the [Wo]Man: Lessons from Polycarp's Story - Guest Post by Emilie Cubino

I am delighted today to not only introduce you to a new friend of mine, but also to announce a brand new monthly feature here on the blog that we are beginning this very month! I had the joy of meeting Emilie Cubino last February at one of Sally Clarkson‘s Girls Club Getaway conferences. She came up to me and introduced herself as a fan of the podcast. One thing led to another, and we have, over the past year, not only struck up a sweet friendship, but also begun to do ministry together. She has written two articles for Spirit-Filled Woman Magazine, and now we are so excited to be partnering again, this time for a brand new monthly column here on Hargraves Home and Hearth!

That new feature will be a monthly column for women on church history. For many of us – even if we have grown up in the church! – our knowledge of church history is sorely lacking. I am so excited to be partnering with Emilie in order to see this problem reversed. Emilie studied church history at Liberty University and is now excited to bring her knowledge to the Hargraves Home and Hearth community through this new feature, beginning today! May you be encouraged and have your faith built up as you learn more and more about its history!

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The new year is upon us. Christmas and New Year’s have passed, and we have begun not only a new year, but a new decade! January is often a time when we make goals both for home and work. Or maybe you don’t, and you just aim for giving of yourself 100% to whatever you believe you are called to do. Whatever your style, I hope you are planning to walk by the Spirit and listen for that still, small voice to direct your steps.

From posts I’ve seen on my social media feeds, 2019 seems to have been a year of much
hardship for so many. I’ve personally seen friends suffer miscarriage, difficult pregnancies, loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, and financial insecurity. 2019 seems to have been a doozy for a good portion of us, and I know we are all hoping 2020 will treat us more kindly.

Polycarp’s Story

I want to encourage you as we enter the year 2020 with a story of one of the early Church
fathers – Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John and lived from approximately AD 69 to AD 155. At the time of Polycarp’s life, the Roman empire did not look on Christianity and Christians with any favor. As pagans, Romans believed that Christians were atheists because they had no visible gods. Christians also refused to make sacrifices to the pagan gods of the Roman empire and altogether, they lived lives that were obviously different than their neighbors. You can imagine that your neighbors would take notice if you no longer kept idols in your house, no longer burned incense to the gods, and no longer made trips to the temple. Though they may not have tried to cause friction with their neighbors, living lives of faith in Jesus put them at odds with the empire they called home.

Polycarp had studied and, essentially, apprenticed under the Apostle John, traveling with him and meeting other apostles and people who had met Jesus. Polycarp was appointed Bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) by the Apostle John. He wrote many letters to the believers, but only one letter remains today. In his letter he emphasizes faith in Christ and working out their faith in their daily lives. Polycarp was focused on orthodoxy (doctrine), Christians knowing the truth, and encouraging his fellow believers to let the truth of Jesus change the way they live and to walk in accordance with that truth.

Polycarp’s preaching and teaching became popular, and he was eventually sought out by the Roman Empire to be brought to trial. In these trials, Christians would be asked to recant their faith by making offerings to idols, or cursing Christ. Polycarp initially fled for safety when he received news that he was being pursued by the Roman empire. He fled a second time as the pursuers approached. After his location was betrayed to the men looking for him, Polycarp took it as a sign that it was God’s will that he be captured and taken to trial.

Three days prior to being captured, he had had a dream that his pillow caught fire, symbolizing that he was to be burned at the stake. When his captors came to his house, he offered them food and drink since they had been pursuing him for several days and asked to pray without interruption before they took him away. They agreed and when he was finished, they put him on a donkey and took him to trial.

As Polycarp was being brought into the stadium, the noise was so loud that he could not hear. But as he entered the stadium, Polycarp and everyone else is reported to have heard a voice say, “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man!” No one could see who spoke the words, but multiple people reported that they had heard them.

Polycarp was asked to deny Christ in exchange for his freedom. The proconsul overseeing the trial told him, “Reproach Christ, and I will set you free.” Polycarp’s response to the proconsul should linger in our hearts for awhile. He said, “Eighty-six years have I served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”

The proconsul was never able to convince Polycarp to “repent”, as he called it, and reproach Christ. Threats of wild animals to attack him went unheeded. Appealing to his old age did not break him down. Polycarp was burned at the stake for his faith, but before he died he uttered a prayer to Jesus. He said,

“O Lord God Almighty, the Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus
Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of you, the God of angels,
powers and every creature, and of all the righteous who live before you, I give
you thanks that you count me worthy to be numbered among your martyrs,
sharing the cup of Christ and the resurrection to eternal life, both of soul and
body, through the immortality of the Holy Spirit. May I be received this day as
an acceptable sacrifice, as you, the true God, have predestined, revealed to
me, and now fulfilled. I praise you for all these things, I bless you and glorify
you, along with the everlasting Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. To you, with
him, through the Holy Ghost, be glory both now and forever. Amen.”

What can we take away from Polycarp’s story?

Life is not without troubles. We cannot avoid pain or sadness, no matter how hard we try. As is evidenced from social media and talking with my friends, 2019 was indeed not always kind to us.

But God.

He is still with us, the I AM, His presence never wavering and His purpose always fulfilled. By the grace of God, we get to experience just a little bit of what Christ suffered on the cross for our sins, and just as Christ rose from the dead and defeated death, by God’s grace we will make it through our sufferings and trials. Sometimes our trials will be more than we can handle, and that’s okay! It is those times where we cannot do it alone that we need to seek out the Lord and ask him, “What do I do?” If we seek Him, we will find Him.

Lessons We Learn from Life’s Trials

Trials lead to our sanctification. Going through difficult times stinks. It is not fun, and I won’t patronize you by saying otherwise – or by being too much of a Pollyanna! But I will say that sometimes we go through hard things because God is allowing us to and even making us into a more refined representation of Himself. He is sanctifying us for His glory. He is making us more like Christ. Sanctification isn’t always fun. Sanctification sometimes hurts more than we think it should. But in the end, sanctification leads us closer to God and makes us more like Him. That is a good thing, and even though it hurts, it will only lead to our benefit.

Stay the course. We may not be asked to recant our faith, or live out our faith in secret in a
communist country. We may not yet have to face martyrdom for what we believe. That doesn’t mean that

…toddler tantrums aren’t difficult.
…difficult finances aren’t hard.
…miscarriage doesn’t cause pain.
…an uncertain future isn’t scary.
…contentment in singleness isn’t hard to pursue.
…marriage trials aren’t soul-wrecking.
…single motherhood isn’t draining.
…marriage to an unbeliever isn’t testing our faith.
…politics doesn’t cause us anxiety.
…chronic illness isn’t a struggle you wish you didn’t have.
…having a special needs child isn’t isolating.
…loneliness isn’t painful.

You can finish that sentence with whatever trial you have gone through or are currently going through.

But let me encourage you to walk by the Spirit, asking Him to direct your steps, listening for His voice along the way. Let me encourage you to read His word to fill you up before you pour out. Let me encourage you to take quiet moments just to listen for His voice.

My prayer is that 2020 is a year of growth for you and that it is not filled with many trials. But if it is, know that you aren’t alone.

Be strong and play the [wo]man. He will be beside you every step of the way.

References:
Foxes Book of Martyrs by John Foxe
Christian History Institute
The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation by Justo Gonzalez
Exploring Church History by Howard F. Vos

Emilie Cubino is a wife, mother, voracious reader, part time graduate student, Virtual Assistant, and Enneagram 8. In her spare time you can find her reading a book, watching British dramas, learning about natural living, wishing for perpetual autumns filled with coffee and tea, and spending time with family. She hopes to one day become a professor of History, but her favorite thing to do is to serve her family at home. You can find her on Instagram and on her blog, Naturally Balanced Motherhood