Would You Die for Your Faith?

by Terry Wane Benton

I keep hearing of people in other countries dying for their faith in Jesus at the hands of Muslims. It is so sad that this goes on without a government backlash against murderous Muslims.

But, what about our faith here? Do we believe in Jesus so strongly and with such loyal love for Him that we would rather die than renounce Him? Some today have so little faith in Jesus that they will not attend His church as He commands (Hebrews 10:24-25), much less face persecution for Him. That is because many do not truly know Him well enough to love Him deeply. Paul knew Him, and that caused him to love Jesus above everything else that had value in his life (Philippians 3:3-12). This led him to believe that Jesus must be glorified "whether by life or by death" (Philippians 1:20-23).

Knowing Jesus is key to the value we place upon Him. To know Him is to love Him above all else, even if it costs us our temporary life in the flesh. Let us reflect on what we have in our hearts, what we lack, and what we need to do about it.