A Martyr's Death

Will that lot ever fall to any of us? We cannot tell, only the Lord knows.

If it does fall to us, will we have the courage of Papa ten Boom and the thousands upon thousands of martyrs who have followed the Lord in the example of His sufferings, even to the point of death?

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26 KJV)

“And I say unto you my friends. Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” (Luke 12: 4-5 KJV)

These are important passages to remember and take to heart, for we never know if the day shall come when we are asked to surrender our lives, either to a prison or to death, for the sake of another and the Lord. The ten Boom family had a very comfortable life and business prior to the events we are reading about. Their world changed practically overnight. Yet they were able to trust the Lord for all that they had need of, even the courage to face unwarranted death.

Here in America, the current economic times are wreaking havoc in thousands of lives. We are told things are getting better, but we haven’t heard that from those who have lost jobs and homes and in those states where the unemployment is 10% or more. Yet, even with all that is happening here, we have a ways to go (or do we?) before we are asked to risk our lives for the sake of the kingdom of God. Even in these hard times we are facing, we still are not suffering the life of a martyr for Christ.

But those Christians living today in India and China and so many other countries, and those many new Christian converts from Islam, all understand what it means to fear not the one who threatens to kill, and does kill, but rather to fear the one who can cast them (and us) into hell for denying His Name. They are risking their lives, literally, to believe in Jesus. [See “Voice of the Martyrs” Magazine began many years ago by a former religious prisoner tortured for Christ. The magazine reports on those countries all over the world where Christian persecution and killing is rampant even now.]

“For whosoever will be ashamed of me….” Powerful words to be remembered in this country where the name of “God” is being removed from every possible usage, and speaking the name of Jesus Christ brings out a raging anger in so many around us, even in our own families.

America is not guaranteed escape from evil times. Just as suddenly as these tragic times descended upon the ten Booms, they can descend upon us. But the Bible tells us that the evil to come will surpass that of the early Christian persecution (worse than being fed alive to the lions?) and it will surpass that of the evils of WWII (worse than execution squads, starvation, gas chambers, and burning furnaces that killed millions?)

Yes, worse than all of that. How then do we prepare for what is to come?

[This blog is an ongoing study of the lives and the faith of Christian women who have experienced and demonstrated victorious living through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The current study is about Corrie ten Boom which began on September 21, 2009.]