If you are like me, you've read the accounts of martyrs today and wondered, Would my faith be so strong? I remember reading the Martyrdom of Polycarp and being amazed by his strong reliant faith. Of course, the legacy of martyrs in the church begins with Stephen, who was clearly filled with the Spirit at the time of his execution. However, reading in Acts, we also see that filling marked Stephen's life in the "little things" as well. He was identified as a good candidate for deacon because he was one who was filled with the Spirit. We prepare for the call to martyrdom by learning to be faithful in the small things in life.
Steve Timmins shared a few thoughts on such faithfulness recently on his twitter account. They were too good to not share, but I didn't want to just retweet them, so they appear here instead:
How can I be sure I would lay down my life for sake of Jesus & the gospel? Perhaps I'll be like Peter in his bravado and subsequent denial? Can't ultimately be sure until I'm called on to do so. But there are indicators in what I am reluctant to give up...
- If I'm not prepared to give up my bed to go and serve someone, I can be fairly confident I won't give up my life...
- If I refuse to give up a holiday abroad so I can support someone in gospel ministry. I can be fairly confident I won't give up my life...
- If I'm not willing to pursue people who are different from me in order to bless them, I can be failry certain I won't give up my life...
- If I'm not prepared to miss out on promotion so I can stay & help plant churches, I can be fairly certain I won't give up my life...
- If I'm not prepared to jeopardise a friendship so that I can tell others about Christ, I can be fairly certain I won't give up my life.
1 comment:
Good stuff. I make a similar point to husbands in my marriage conference - if I don't love my wife enough to do dishes, I have no reason to believe I'd die for her. If I can't live for her, then I certainly won't die for her.
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