"Nothing gives more credence to the Christian faith than the willingness of its followers to endure mistreatment . . . "
Robert Jeffress
Twilight's Last Gleaming p.198
Worthy Publishing 2016
Recently,
I threw a partially read book away.
I set it out in the rain to make it unreadable by anyone else. I didn't want anyone else discouraged, or doubting.
I'd read about Christian persecution, but this topped them all. What kind of a God could allow this? Can I serve a God like that? I journaled. I prayed. I ached. What do I do with this? Torture is beyond my scope of understanding. I can't get past the pleasure someone receives from causing another unbearable pain.
Yet this morning, in a different book, I read the story of Soon Ok Lee, who was imprisoned with Christians, in Korea, for 5 years. She couldn't understand why they wouldn't just say, "I don't believe," and be free. Instead, she remembers hearing them sing as they were put to death.
"Eventually, Lee escaped from prison to South Korea, where she became a Christian. By her own testimony, it was the enduring faith of those persecuted believers that planted the seed of the gospel in her heart." (Quoted from, Searching For Heaven On Earth, by David Jeremiah; p. 74-75)
My take-away?
If a young woman can come to faith because she heard believers singing while being put to a tortuous death,
Can I sing?
When my health takes a wrong turn?
When my car breaks down?
When a needed vacation falls through?
When someone lies about me, or about someone I care about?
Can I sing when . . . YOU fill in the blank.
Can I carry a deep enough hope and trust in Jesus that it actually shows to the people around me?
God, even if I must start with tears, help me to sing.
For You. For me. For others around me who need to see hope played out.
I don't understand God,
But I love Him,
Lonnie
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