Dying for Christ

For the longest time I questioned whether I would be able to die for Christ. You hear about Christians paying the ultimate price. I wondered whether under the most torturous instances I would deny my LORD. I struggled a great deal during senior year of high school with that issue. I questioned the authenticity of my faith and God. My mind sunk into a pit of doubt and despair.

Then God answered ...

The real hard question was not: are you able to die for God. Instead, the truly challenging question that I was not asking was: are you willing to live for God. Dying for God is easy once you realize what lies beyond the grave. Living for Christ, on the other hand, through the most heavy of suffering is the real challenge. I questioned whether I was willing to travel to some far off country to die for God. However, God showed me that I was not even willing to proclaim the message of Christ to those around me during the everyday mundane of life. O, how I forget that the abundant life is manifested in the everyday of life. The kingdom of God is manifested through the daily grind and endurance of life. I do not want to sound too judgmental, but the suicide bombers have a skewed perspective on devotion. Devotion to God is not proven through the taking of ones life for a cause. Instead, devotion is exemplified through the patient and sometimes painful living of one's life for God.
Jesus does not only call us to die. He calls us to die, then to live for him. I wonder what I am doing to live for God's kingdom.

Wow, think about how I so dearly cling to the temporary life of this world. God, work out your convictions in my life.