October 07, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"What If?... "
Acts 21:13
New International Version
13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Who would you be willing to die for? Your husband or wife? Your Children? Your neighbor? If it came down to our life lost or another, there are any number of special relationships that would cause us to ignore self-interest and sacrifice ourselves. But suppose no other life is in the balance. We often hear talk about soldiers laying down their lives for their country. Yet even among all the brave, patriotic men and women who have died for the cause, few of them actually signed up specifically to die, as if a kamikaze pilot or suicide bomber. Shifting the focus, still others have died because of their faith, but not always intentionally so. Millions have been killed simply because they were of the wrong faith, but not necessarily because they chose death rather than renouncing their faith. To be “faithful unto death" is to be faithful even in the face of dying for what you believe. It does not mean committing suicide for the sake of the kingdom or taking the lives of others in aid of some righteous cause. Terrorists who take innocent life could not be more misguided. Yet what could be nobler than to lay down one's life for a transcendent cause? As Jesus had done before him, Paul set his face toward Jerusalem knowing that it might well lead to his death. Were you and I to be given the same choice, would we have resolutely walked into Jerusalem knowing what fate awaited us? Few of us will ever face such a difficult dilemma regarding our faith, but it is well worth seriously considering “What if?"
The question for the moment is: If I think I'd be willing to die for my faith were I actually put to the test, am I equally committed to the even greater challenge of truly living for my faith?
