Last tuesday, my pastor, shared a story in staff meeting about some things that are happening in what we will call the East. We have partners in a certain region in the world that, this past weekend, were brutally persecuted and some, many, lost their lives for their faith in Jesus Christ. Some of these that lost their lives, were personally challenged by Pastor Dave.
Pastor Dave told us of a time that he preached the toughest message he had ever preached in his lifetime of ministry. He talked about how he had drawn a line in the ground, pointed to it, and proclaimed with prophet-like power and courage, “Only cross this line if you would be willing to die for your faith in Jesus.” Some men began to move to cross the line and Pastor looked them in the eye and begged them to count the cost of what they were doing. Still, many brave men, young and old, crossed that line and accepted the call that their Lord had already placed before them: “Come and die.”
As Pastor Dave told us this story, tears welled up in his eyes as he stammered finishing the story. It was clear that his heart was heavy with the proclamation that God had made to these men and the reality that it had happened. He was moved. I was moved. And then he said something that came over me like a rush of wind over a bluff plummeting down to the ocean and taking me with it: “Have I ever had to cross that line?”
I mean if I am serious about my faith and the things that Jesus has called me to, I would know that Jesus’ call of freedom to the captives sometimes involves being in chains. That Jesus’ call to being the Body of Christ sometimes means reaching out to those that aren’t in the body of Christ. That the call of Christ to gain life often means losing your life.
I have no idea what it means to step up and understand what the cost of a brutal, painful death looks like, nor can I comprehend it. But I do know this, in my pursuit of the unseen Christ, I am finding that I need to die even to my freedom, in order to pursue Him. Some of the things that are completely legal and considered to be benefits of “freedom” may not always be “Christ-ly” and therefore might need to be surrendered, perhaps even forfeited.
I, honestly, have no desire to die a horrific death. But I do want, desperately, to be able to have the courage to be willing to step across that line; That line that separates those that are willing to Live for Christ and those that are willing to Die for Him.
