I talk to myself. A lot.
Shocking, I know.
Sometimes, I'm writing a book in my head, and I need to say it out loud to see if the dialogue is stupid. It usually is.
More often than not, I'm creating scenarios and figuring out how I would respond in a given situation.
Because I have traveled overseas, and because I am a Christian, a lot of those scenarios deal with being kidnapped or martyred or tortured.
Do I overthink things? Yes. Yes, I do.
Here's the thing, though. It's easy to plan for the big moments. (It's less easy to execute said plans. But I have a plan for that!) It is not so easy to plan for the small moments.
Think about it. You're in front of the Roman emperor or his proxy, and you're told to deny your faith or die. That's a big moment. It's obvious. You can plan for that moment.
But maybe you're with a friend. And the friend tells an off-color joke. No substance to it whatsoever. No redeeming quality to the vulgarity. But it's kinda funny. Can you plan for those moments?
When I was much younger, I thought a lot about martyrdom. (I had just read Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Can you really blame me?) And because I did not yet fully understand the difference between saved by grace and saved by works, I considered martyrdom to be the only surefire way to prove that I was a good Christian. I mean, dying for Jesus? That's gold.
My thinking has evolved since then, thankfully. But the idea of martyrdom has stuck with me, especially since becoming a missionary. Then this morning, OMS President Bob Fetherlin gave this message. (Go ahead. Listen to it. I'll wait.)
And everything clicked.
The Christian life may indeed end in the type of martyrdom we all know and love. But even before that point, life is a series of martyrdoms. It has to be.
That's ultimately how you can plan for the small moments. If you are continuously dying to self, denying your need to be right, relinquishing your pride, all in the pursuit of being more like Jesus, you will be a martyr - maybe not in the way it is now understood, but definitely at its heart as a witness for Jesus Christ.
See, the word martyr comes from the Greek martur. It means witness.
We should all be martyrs. We should all be witnesses of Jesus.
And whatever death that martyrdom ultimately leads to - death to self or death by opponents of Christ - it will always lead us straight to the arms of Jesus.
And that is always a good thing.
Shocking, I know.
Sometimes, I'm writing a book in my head, and I need to say it out loud to see if the dialogue is stupid. It usually is.
More often than not, I'm creating scenarios and figuring out how I would respond in a given situation.
Because I have traveled overseas, and because I am a Christian, a lot of those scenarios deal with being kidnapped or martyred or tortured.
Do I overthink things? Yes. Yes, I do.
Here's the thing, though. It's easy to plan for the big moments. (It's less easy to execute said plans. But I have a plan for that!) It is not so easy to plan for the small moments.
Think about it. You're in front of the Roman emperor or his proxy, and you're told to deny your faith or die. That's a big moment. It's obvious. You can plan for that moment.
But maybe you're with a friend. And the friend tells an off-color joke. No substance to it whatsoever. No redeeming quality to the vulgarity. But it's kinda funny. Can you plan for those moments?
When I was much younger, I thought a lot about martyrdom. (I had just read Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Can you really blame me?) And because I did not yet fully understand the difference between saved by grace and saved by works, I considered martyrdom to be the only surefire way to prove that I was a good Christian. I mean, dying for Jesus? That's gold.
My thinking has evolved since then, thankfully. But the idea of martyrdom has stuck with me, especially since becoming a missionary. Then this morning, OMS President Bob Fetherlin gave this message. (Go ahead. Listen to it. I'll wait.)
And everything clicked.
The Christian life may indeed end in the type of martyrdom we all know and love. But even before that point, life is a series of martyrdoms. It has to be.
That's ultimately how you can plan for the small moments. If you are continuously dying to self, denying your need to be right, relinquishing your pride, all in the pursuit of being more like Jesus, you will be a martyr - maybe not in the way it is now understood, but definitely at its heart as a witness for Jesus Christ.
See, the word martyr comes from the Greek martur. It means witness.
We should all be martyrs. We should all be witnesses of Jesus.
And whatever death that martyrdom ultimately leads to - death to self or death by opponents of Christ - it will always lead us straight to the arms of Jesus.
And that is always a good thing.
Excellent thoughts. Pretty sure there are very few Christians who cannot relate.
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