To Die for a Cause
Good Morning Friends,
Some say the roll of those suffering the marks of martyrdom today may be more than ever. With that in mind this morning we take a look at martyrs and heroes. Over the Fourth of July weekend I saw the WWI, black and white movie, Sargent York. And I kind of like the idea of being willing to die for a cause of reducing human suffering and then not dying. The reality though is that human suffering is a fact that has to be acknowledged by believer and unbeliever alike. But know this, suffering for the believer is part of the journey and sometimes it involves sacrifice and sometimes not. What is different here is that Christian suffering can be one of love offered freely. Some confuse the issue by considering the doctrine of redemption as a caricature of a human sacrifice of blood lust. This is not what the story of Christ and the martyrs that have followed is about. There are, of course, a large group of nameless martyrs who are victims to persecution because of their faith even if they never actively evangelized. Some say the list of Christian martyrs is more than a 100,000 a year. Others say the number is closer to 1,000. That the data on martyrdom can be exaggerated does not mean that there are no real martyrs. Many have died in service persecuted and suffering in concentration camps and as prisoners of war to what we all hope is a greater good. Many Christian martyrs in recent years have made the news but our culture’s reaction to them is a little confused. Regardless of the number it adds up to a lot of people willing To Die for a Cause.
Scripture: Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
2 Timothy 3:12 (NRSV)
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Matthew 5:11 (NRSV)
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Matthew 16:24-25 (NRSV)
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Acts 21:13 (NRSV)
Message: It is easy to forget that these words about persecution are relevant today. We would like to think that they are, for a time that has come and gone, but that is not the case. They remain a defining mark of a Christian. The highest honor you can receive. The most Christ like we can become is to be persecuted for righteousness. Too often though, we expect people to leap from sinners to saints in a single bound, sort of like Superman. But I have found more often than not, it is a process.
I understand that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church but I just do not much care for the thought of it. I would much rather live, thank you. If the church grows because of the blood of martyrs then one might conclude that the church is positioned to grow dramatically. Tertullian observed, that the persecution of the early Church was failing to destroy Christianity. He is the one who forwarded this idea of the positive aspects of martyrdom. There is a danger, however, in assuming that persecution invariably causes church growth. Delving here can be dark. I have to believe that something else is a work here besides the sacrifice. We see it in the early martyrs in the Christian faith as they experienced the Spirit of peace, love and joy. We see it in the life of Stephen and we recognize that it is the Holy Spirit that gives us this experience in the face of persecution and pain. It is the Holy Spirit that grows the Church. Friends, remember that God is out there even when we cannot see Him at work. Remember that we are not to force spiritual things to fit our thinking but rather have our thinking molded by spiritual things.
Pray we realize that a life devoted to righteousness will be persecuted. Pray that the positive consequences of persecution do not result in a reduction of concern for those persecuted. Pray we do not fail to be faithful when the world revolts against our Christian claims. Pray we find comfort in the lives of those who died for the cause of Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 