Dec 7, 2018
The martyrs given a
white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number
of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they
had been. Rev 6:11
Dying for Jesus is
far better than living without him.
The greatest danger to our lives is not unsafe environments,
but comfortable ones.
These days, it’s becoming more and more difficult to find
people who want to serve on mission with Jesus.
Many love Jesus, and want to have Him in their lives, but still fear “being sent to Africa”, or facing
persecution, or being rejected by friends & family for their faith. And many who are interested in missions don’t
want to leave behind their conveniences – like cell phones and internet and
personal assets. To be on mission is
fine as long as it doesn’t require risk and doesn’t take us out of our air
conditioning and hot water homes.
Let’s face it, we don’t like to think about being martyred
for our faith. And just to be fair, who
would? People would rightly question
your sanity if you WANTED to be martyred for your beliefs. That’s not much of a testimony, and often
doesn’t really produce much good. What
makes a martyr’s testimony powerful is their commitment to faith in Christ in
SPITE of the threat, even maintaining their hope for God to rescue them or overcome
through them.
But in the end, it is those who are martyred whom God
respects the most. They are protected in
the central altar of heaven. They are
the first to be given white robes, symbolizing honor and holiness, while we
wait for the final day of judgment.
These folks are the ones God WANTS to see lead His Kingdom, even to the
point of waiting on the full number of them to finish their work.
That doesn’t mean you have to seek crucifixion or hanging to
enjoy the respect of God. He values the
other ways people are martyred too. He
is honored by the spouse who remains faithful in an unequally yoked
marriage. He pays attention to the
student who speaks for Jesus while friends and classmates ridicule them. God is awakened by the sounds of persecution
that happen all around us, when Christians are demeaned or attacked by the
media, by government, by EVEN OTHER CHRISTIANS, just because they stayed
faithful. Martyrdom doesn’t always mean
execution, but it always involves persecution – and while Satan sees it as the
best tool to shut up the Christians, God sees it as the greatest testimony to
eternal life.
Stop being afraid of the risks, and start living out your
faith boldly! That doesn’t mean we have
to be rude or judgmental (God is in charge of judgment), it just means we need
to live out loud, speak up when needed, and remain faithful to His Word. Then, whatever happens, God will have your
white robe ready for you.
And parents – let me speak some truth into our lives as well
– sometimes WE are the biggest defeater of our kid’s faith when they feel the
calling of God and we try to “keep them safe”.
Safety is NOT the greatest value in the Kingdom of God – faithfulness
is! So stop preventing their calling
because of your fears, and start trusting in a God who is ALL POWERFUL over
that risk. Release your kids to God,
because it is FAR Safer to have your kids in God’s hands than it is to keep
them in yours!
No comments:
Post a Comment