Jesus freak wanta be?
I keep reading this great piece of work called Jesus Freaks about those who have been martyred for their faith. It is so incredible to hear story after story about those who have given their very lives for the honor of what they knew was real and true! Just think of how many people there are in the world today that couldn’t disagree more with those who were martyred yet they themselves have nothing worth dying for. It is an interesting and challenging thought to think about what we truly believe in, you know?!
The stories range from house servants caught with a bible in Russia, then they were martyred by getting bricked off in a cement wall. Another story tells an incredible tale of a young communist soldier who found faith and stood out in the below zero temperatures for two weeks before being beaten, stabbed and ultimately drown to finalize his death! There are even stories to be told of children dying in China or the middle east to take a stand for Jesus. Isn’t that breathtaking?!
Many of us get so comfortable with our lives and everything we have, or angry of what we don’t have, and these people only had their faith, the same faith 200,000 people die for each and every year! What is it about the millions of people over the last 2,000 years that have given everything, including their own lives for this one man, Jesus? There are stories of people surviving burnings at the stake, gunshots and even hangings. I think the world would be much more peaceful and successful if their were more people willing to die for whatever they’re living for.
This whole idea is really changing my perspective on my faith. I myself have been detained for the sake of my faith while ministering in India. Thinking I was going to die over there taught me a lot about living my life here in the US. it really shocked me to be persecuted for my faith, but it is a very true reality!
I once heard that it is always best to end with a quote, so I want to end with what Toby McKeehan said in one of his songs:
“What will people think
when they hear that I’m a Jesus Freak?
What will people do
when they find that it’s true?
I don’t really care
if they label me a Jesus Freak
cause there ain’t no disguising the truth.”