It seems lately that there is an uptick in tragedies. Enough so, that my daughter has even noticed. I was working on my computer one night this week, and she sat down on the couch and said, “Dad, you know everyone is talking about Charlie Kirk, and it seems like everyone has forgotten about the girls at the camp that were washed away in the floods this summer.”  That led to a conversation that I don’t think many have at her age.

I could tell something was bothering her; she had something to say but couldn’t quite put it into words.  Kerah has accepted Christ as her Savior. In fact, this past Sunday, I had the privilege of joining Pa in her baptism. Kerah is the kind of girl that you don’t really push into things.  I say she can be a little stubborn like her mother, and her mother says she gets it from me. Either way, once she decides to do something, it’s one hundred percent her.

As parents, we have taught her that her faith and her relationship with God is up to her.  Now that she has sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23), she can’t stand before God and say, “but my mom and my dad believed.”  She has spent the past year learning, growing, and experiencing the idea that God loves her and is with her in her struggles. But now, with all these things that she has seen recently, she realizes there is another level to Christianity that requires more than just words, it requires action by living it daily.

After a little while of back and forth, she finally came out and said it, “Dad, I want to be like Charlie Kirk and stand for my beliefs and help others, but I don’t want to die.”  She mentioned that she had also heard that during one of the recent school shootings a girl was shot while praying.  I remember sensing that she really thought about the girls at the camp this summer with many of them being her age.  We began to examine these different events and began talking about the difference in dying in faith and dying for faith.

Here are some of our conclusions:
First, death comes to us all. We cannot escape this world without dying. Our mind has a hard time rationalizing something that we’ve not experienced. That’s why it requires faith to believe that there is life on the other side of death. As Christians, death is a good thing. It is a final reconnection with the Father.

When we talk about dying in faith, we are talking about situations where someone has lived obedient to the Word, believed and walked in the salvation of Christ, maintained faith, and has died from whatever reason or cause. We talked about car wrecks, illnesses like cancer, or even natural causes like old age. When we talk about dying for faith, we are talking about situations where a person is killed because of their faith and testimony: being a martyr.  The interesting thing when looking at these two ideas is that it really isn’t about the death, no matter what the cause, the reason, or even how tragic it may seem. It’s about how they lived their life up until their death. Focus on living in faith today, not worrying about dying tomorrow.

An important part of living in faith is surrendering our life to God’s will. For me, this is another concept that is easier said than done. I think many, like me, fall into the trap that since God has given us choice, we can do what we want, when we want, and how we want.  1 Corinthians 6:20 says that we are “bought with a price.” That price was Christ providing Himself as a blood sacrifice on the cross. If we are bought, that means we are owned as a servant to a master. A servant is not in any way, shape, or form equal to or greater than their master, as John 13:16 states.

So in fact, although we have choice, we can’t be a faithful servant of God going around doing as we please. That sinful nature of the flesh has to die. When Kerah went in the water to be baptized, she was signifying that same sinful nature died only to be born again into a new creature, bought with a price, a servant of Christ. Moving forward from the act and symbolism of baptism is allowing ourselves to be used by God for His will.

God has a will, a plan, and a purpose for our life. To understand what those things are requires a relationship with Him. Which means spending time reading His Word, praying, seeking, and probably most important, listening.  As we grow to know Him, we grow our faith in Him. And as He reveals Himself to us, we grow to trust Him, His words, and His character. And the more we trust, then it grows more faith. So when we are faced with challenging situations, devastating news, or even persecution, there is no reason to fear. God is bigger than the circumstance. Just be faithful and obedient.

That brings me to my final conclusion:
I believe Matthew 10, verses 16-42 sum it up well. It is well worth reading. Living our faith doesn’t exempt us from bad things or evil people.  These verses tell us that we should expect to be persecuted as we are sheep sent among wolves.  In fact, those who are willing to do bad things may be our own family. But don’t fear what man can do.  Verse 22 reads, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”  Verses 32-35 read, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.”  And in verses 38 and 39 is says, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

Fear can be overwhelming when unchecked by truth. “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8)  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The truth is that God loves us. The truth is that Jesus experienced pain and suffering. The truth is that this life here on earth is temporary. The truth is that God has a calling and a mission for my life, for Kerah’s life, and for your life. The truth is that our only hope rests in Him.

I pray for a revival so some of these senseless acts could end. But Scripture tells us to be prepared. The day is coming whether we want to admit it or not. Don’t let your loved ones fall by the wayside.

– Written by Lee

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