WHAT COULD BE HARDER THAN BEING A MARTYR? -- Devotional for July 7, from "Good Seeds"

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12:1)

We who know God love life. What could be better than to live life as it was intended to be lived by the Master Designer Himself? And yet sometimes – very rarely, but it does happen – a person is given the choice between renouncing his belief and loyalty to Jesus, and by such recanting preserving his life, or being put to death for refusing to do so. This almost looks like suicide, to choose death over life, when that life could be preserved by a simple change of heart. On the other end of the spectrum of conviction are those who will believe or say or do anything in order to save their lives. Those with no hope for “the good life in the next life” would tend to be such desperate clingers to this old earth. The greatest man who ever lived (according to Jesus – see Luke 7:28) lived only until age 30 or so. Yes, John the Baptist was probably the first Christian martyr, for he preached the righteousness of God, and held onto it in the face of imprisonment, to the point of ultimately being beheaded, because he would not stand down. And yet Jesus went on to say that even John, “the greatest man ever born of woman, “ was not greater than any other humble servant of God. A contradiction? No, rather a confirmation that one does not have to be a martyr to be a saint. In fact, a case could be made for it actually being easier to die for Jesus than to live for Him. Oh, no one in his right mind wants to die, for any person or cause, and yet the thought of present drudgery or misery or persecution coming to an end in exchange for heavenly bliss, well, that could be pretty tempting. Some misguided preachers present the mistaken notion that when you place your faith in Jesus all your problems will disappear, for “Jesus wants you to be healthy, wealthy, prosperous and popular. Just name it and claim it, friend, and it’s yours!” People who believe “the good life in this life” to be their due from God, but then don’t get it, could fall into a “martyr complex,” and like Jonah, say to God, “If I can’t have it my way then I wanna die!” That is not persecution for righteousness’ sake, which earns a heavenly crown for sure, but rather it is persecution that is nigh onto being fully deserved. Be sure that your suffering, or even your martyrdom, if it comes to that, is for your SAVIOR, and not for your SELF! In the meantime, I think it can be shown that it’s just as hard – and maybe harder – to live for Jesus day by day, hour by hour, than to just give up your life, and be done with the suffering and pain, once and for all. What could be harder than being a martyr? Try being a saint!