In western society today, Christians are not often required to risk their lives in order to stand up for their beliefs. However, in other parts of the world there are still Christian martyrs; there are still places where people are not allowed to worship Jesus freely. If I am honest, I don’t know if I would be brave enough to stand up for my beliefs in the face of execution, even if I like to think I would; may I never have to find out.
I wonder then, if we who are fortunate enough to be safe in our Christian faith are at risk of becoming less bold in our statements of faith. In other words, if we don’t have to worry about dying for our faith, are we less likely to have faith we’d be willing to die for?
I don’t expect you to have an easy answer to that question, but perhaps today you might consider ways in which you are bold in your own proclamation of your faith. In what ways do you make sacrifices for your belief and faith in Christ?
God of love, protect all who risk their lives when they confess their faith in you and give us courage and strength to boldly confess our own faith. Amen. — JEM