REMEMBERING THE CHRISTIAN MARTYRS  OF OLD (PART 6)

"So we always have courage. We know that while we live in this body, we are away from the Lord. We live by what we believe, not by what we can see... We really want to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord. Our only goal is to please God whether we live here or there." (2 Corinthians 5:6-9, NCV)

Paul the Apostle

Martyred in Rome, 65 AD

     "Peter, a young man, amiable for the superior qualities of his body and

mind, was beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to Venus. He said, "I am

astonished you should sacrifice to an infamous woman (Venus), whose debaucheries even your own historians record, and whose life consisted of such actions as your laws would punish.--No, I shall offer the true God the acceptable sacrifice of praises and prayers." (Foxe's Book of Martyrs). Yesterday, we read about the courage of the young maid servant named Wrunken and we have so many more examples.

    Going through the stories of the Christian martyrs, we find one thing in common with them all: courage! They were bold, brave and daring. They persevered with the most cruel treatments. The courage they exhibited, in the face of life threatening danger and eventually, at martyrdom was phenomenal!

    The question is: where did they get such courage from? From the writings of Apostle Paul, himself also a victim of martyrdom in Rome in the year 65 AD, we can identify the source of their courage. They considered themselves essentially, as strangers and pilgrims on earth (Heb 11:13, 1 Pet 2:11). In them was a burning desire to be away from the earth and to be at home with the Lord. Nothing here on earth pleased them. They imagined being with Jesus a much better option than being here on earth. Unlike the present day crop of Christians, the old saints lived by what they believed, not by what they saw! Sadly today, the reverse is the case with us! We live by what we see, rather than by what we believe.

"So we always have courage. We know that while we live in this body, we are away from the Lord. We live by what we believe, not by what we can see... We really want to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord. Our only goal is to please God whether we live here or there." (2 Corinthians 5:6-9, NCV).

      In Phil 1:20-23, the Apostle again expressed the same sentiments:

"The thing I want and hope for is that I will not fail Christ in anything. I hope that I will have the courage now, as always, to show the greatness of Christ in my life here on earth. I want to do that if I die or if I live."(Phil1:20, ICB). To him, the courage to show the greatness of Christ was paramount; so nothing else mattered, whether suffering or death by whatever cruel imagination. Continuing, the Apostle writes further:

"To me the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be profit for me. ... I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That is much better." (Phil 1:21-23, ICB). Wow!

     This was the motivation behind the lives of the saints and the Christian martyrs of old. Today, it's glaring that we don't have such motivations. The Christian of this present age has grossly miscalculated the essence of the Christian faith. We have placed too much attachment to the world and to the gratifications of the flesh, which wasn't so with the saints of old. From the current happenings, you will discover sadly, that as the world is getting churchier, the Church is getting worldlier. May God help us!

PRAYER:

Lord, I have so much to learn from the Bible and particularly, the exemplary lives of the saints of old. Help me Lord!