One of my favorite Bible passages of all time comes from Luke. Jesus is dying on the cross between the two criminals and one mocks him, saying "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!" But, the other rebukes him saying "Do you not fear God? We are justly punished, but this man has done nothing wrong," and turning to Jesus says, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus says to him, "Truly, this day you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:39-43)
I always get choked up when I read this. The magnitude of what Jesus is saying here is amazing. Even after all that he did, this thief is being given a second chance because he has turned to God. That's really powerful. In the face of great suffering, he finds God.
I'm thinking about this passage for two reasons. One: it's Holy Week, and this is a Good Friday sort of passage. Two: I read this article by Right Wing News.
ISIS was murdering a group of Egyptian men because of their Christian faith. They had captured 20 Coptic Christians, but had accidentally brought along one more man (to make 21) who was not a Christian. As he saw all these men dying for their faith, he was amazed. And when his captors demanded that he renounce his faith (even though he was not Christian), he said in reply, "Their God is my God" and was killed alongside them.
How powerful! How many Christians--or really, members of any faith community, do you know who are willing to die for their faith? I'm willing to bet it's not too many. I would like to think that in that situation, I would also stand by my faith, but we don't know how we will respond in times of crisis. Even the apostles abandoned Jesus during His Passion. I will say, however, that my God gives me strength, and if He wills that I be placed in a position where I have to defend my faith, even with my life, I believe that He will also give me the courage to stay true to Him. Remember Psalm 23:4-- Even though I walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for you are at my side, with your rod and your staff that give me courage.
I'm still in awe over this story. I think it goes to show that even though our Christian brothers and sisters are persecuted in the Middle East, our God is still with us. And we show our faith through our works, not just through our words. It is one thing to say that you are Christian, but are you willing to die for your faith? That is the ultimate test.
